Celtic captain Brown's ban appeal rejected

Brown was automatically banned for one match following his red card for aiming a kick at Neymar after the Brazilian went down in a tackle during the 1-0 defeat last month, but UEFA added a further two games to his punishment.

(Reuters)

"Clearly we are very disappointed with today's decision as we believe our appeal had real merit," Celtic said in a statement on their website (www.celticfc.net).

Brown missed last week's 2-1 win over Ajax Amsterdam and is now ruled out for the second match against the Dutch side on November 6 and the visit of AC Milan.

(Reporting by Josh Reich, editing by Ed Osmond)