Joey Barton escapes ban

The FA have announced that Joey Barton will face no further action after his horror challenge on Dickson Etuhu in the match between Newcastle and Sunderland at the weekend. Barton had his studs high, but referee Martin Atkinson did not give a foul.

In case the violent conduct charge had been issued at Barton, the 25-year-old former Manchester City player could have faced a three-match ban.

An FA spokesman said: "The Football Association can only take action in the case of incidents that are not seen by officials.

"While it is clear that the officials did not see the full extent of the incident, they did see players coming together and to take any further action would be tantamount to re-refereeing the game and this would be contrary to the laws of the game."