Football: BEATEN FRANCIS HITS OUT AT 'LIES'.

Byline: DAVID MOORE 

TREVOR FRANCIS could be hit by a huge FA fine after Birmingham City's appeal for a play-off replay was rejected last night.

Beaten in Thursday's bitter penalty shoot-out at Preston, City engaged a top QC to lodge their protests yesterday.

But the Football League quickly squashed their hopes, confirming that Preston will face Bolton in the play-off final and forwarding referee Paul Danson's report to the FA.

A League spokesman said: "This is being done with a view to possible disciplinary action against Birmingham City as a club and members of their personnel."

So the fiery Francis might well find himself in hot water with a costly stain on his reputation.

I understand that Danson has alleged that foul and abusive language was used against him by several members of City's staff as the penalty row boiled over.

Francis had been unable to trust himself to speak in public after Preston won 4-2 on penalties taken in front of their own fans.

He said: "The reason I am so angry is because I was lied to.

"I discussed which end a penalty shoot-out would be held with both Danson and a police representative on the pitch some 80 minutes before the kick-off.

"Danson left me in no doubt that it would go to the end where there are no spectators because of stadium redevelopment. That is what he said.

"So I think I am entitled, and everybody at Birmingham is entitled, to make this protest. We were misled, and badly let down.

"The word cheated springs to mind. What happened to us was just too much to bear.

"We were suddenly informed that Danson had changed his mind. Bear in mind, this is an official who was demoted to the Football League from the Premiership due to alleged incompetence.

"He robbed us. If we cannot meet Preston again, this is costing us millions and millions of pounds and an equal amount of heartache.

"I regard myself as a man of integrity, and I am proud of my reputation in the game. My disciplinary record is impeccable. For Danson I have no sympathy, because it seems he deliberately misled us when it would have been easy to toss a coin for choice of ends.

"I don't buy the suggestion that the kicks were taken in front of 6,000 Preston fans for so-called security reasons. To me, that's rubbish.

"If Danson had said from the start that any penalties would be at the Bill Shankly end, then I would actually have accepted that. What I can't accept is the way he changed his mind at the last minute.

"You do sometimes suspect that the whole world might be against you. Preston snatched extra-time through an offside goal.

"As Jasper Carrot always reckons, Birmingham City always have a lot of luck, and every bit of it is bad."

League official John Nagel dismissed Francis's arguments.

He said: "This sort of decision is entirely at the referee's discretion, with crowd safety of paramount importance. We back Paul Danson 100 per cent.

"The laws of football, as supervised by FIFA, leave no room for doubt about it. The referee has total power. That's the end of it."

CAPTION(S):

SPOT OF BOTHER: Trevor Francis confronting the officials at Preston and (left) still defiant yesterday