Stoke have confirmed that they have lodged an appeal against the red card shown to Rory Delap in their FA Cup victory over Crawley.

Delap: Saw red early on in FA Cup clash

The Potters midfielder was dismissed just 17 minutes into a fifth-round tie at the Broadfield Stadium.

Referee Mike Jones deemed his lunging challenge on David Hunt to be dangerous and he was sent for an early bath.

Stoke were left fuming at the decision at the time, with Tony Pulis making his feelings clear on the touchline.

He then queried the performance of the match officials at full time, with the Potters relieved to have picked up a 2-0 win in spite of finding themselves reduced to 10 men for a large part of the game.

Stoke have now revealed that they are to take the matter further, with it their opinion that Delap should be spared an impending ban.

"After studying television replays of the incident, City have now notified the Football Association that they will be appealing against the dismissal," read a statement released on the club's official website.

"The club now have 24 hours to present their evidence to the FA in the hope that the midfielder's three-match suspension will be overturned."

Should Stoke fail in their appeal, Delap would be forced to sit out Premier League fixtures against Swansea, Norwich and Chelsea.