Lille consider CAS appeal

Lille are not ruling out launching an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after seeing their attempts to invalidate Manchester United's winning goal in last week's Champions League tie rejected by UEFA.

The French side lost 1-0 to a quickly taken Ryan Giggs free-kick, but the club appealed to UEFA, claiming there had been a technical error by the referee in allowing the winger to convert the set-piece without blowing his whistle.

UEFA's control and disciplinary body previously vetoed the claim, and that decision was ratified by the European governing body's appeals department on Friday. Lille are now considering whether to take their protest further.

"The appeals commission has finally rejected LOSC's appeal, giving reason to the arguments of the UEFA inspector," read a statement on the club's official website, www.losc.fr.

"The reasons adduced for that judgment will only be published next week. LOSC will make a decision then about going in front of the Court of Arbitration for Sport or not."

Once Lille receive written notice of the grounds of today's decision, they will have three days in which to launch any appeal.

A ruling is therefore unlikely before the second leg of the last-16 tie, which takes place at Old Trafford on Wednesday.