Jamie Vardy has had his appeal against his sending-off in Leicester’s draw with Stoke rejected, with the Football Association upholding his three-match ban that will rule him out until 2017.

The 29-year-old was shown a straight red card in the 28th minute after he was judged by referee Craig Pawson to have dived in two-footed on Stoke striker Mame Diouf in a reckless manner.

Leicester made their case to the Football Association in an effort to have the striker’s three-match ban overturned, claiming that Vardy was pushed into the challenge after colliding with England teammate Glen Johnson.

However, the FA have rejected Leicester argument and upheld his three-match ban, which means he will not be eligible to play for Foxes until their FA Cup third round encounter against Everton on 7 January.

The FA released a short statement that read: “Jamie Vardy will serve a three-match suspension with immediate effect after his wrongful dismissal claim was rejected, following an Independent Regulatory Commission hearing.”