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Celtic captain Brown's ban appeal rejected

Celtic's Scott Brown (R) is challenged by Inverness Caledonian Thistle's Richie Foran during their Scottish Premier League soccer match at Celtic Park Stadium in Glasgow, Scotland August 24, 2013. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne

(Reuters) - Celtic captain Scott Brown's appeal against an extended ban following his Champions League sending-off against Barcelona has been rejected, the club said on Friday. 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. "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)