Eduardo faces the prospect of missing Arsenal’s opening Champions League matches against Standard Liege and Olympiakos after he was charged by Uefa with diving to win a penalty against Celtic.
European football's governing body announced they had opened disciplinary proceedings against the Croatia international for "deceiving the referee" in Wednesday night's play-off second leg at the Emirates Stadium.
Uefa said in a statement: "Having studied video evidence of the incident in question, the Uefa disciplinary inspector decided to charge the player concerned. The Uefa control and disciplinary body will examine the case on September 1."
The charge is based on Article 10, paragraph 1c of the Uefa disciplinary regulations (misconduct of players) which states: "Players may be suspended for two competition matches, or for a specified period, for acting with the obvious intent to cause any match official to make an incorrect decision or supporting his error of judgment and thereby causing him to make an incorrect decision."
The Scottish Football Association had urged Uefa to take action, although Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger felt his player may simply have been trying to avoid a collision with Celtic goalkeeper Arur Boruc.
Wenger is also likely to point out that, in his opinion, Liverpool's Ryan Babel dived to win a penalty in the 2008 Champions League quarter-final against Arsenal and escaped sanction. The Babel incident also carried far greater significance in the wider context of the match.
Eduardo was playing in his first European match for 18 months after breaking his leg and dislocating his ankle against Birmingham but could now miss two group matches of this year’s competition. Television replays demonstrated that there had been minimal contact with Boruc, the Celtic goalkeeper.
Eduardo, though, was defended by his Arsenal team-mates. “I still believe it was a penalty - I know Eduardo well and he is an honest player, not a diver,” said Denilson.
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