Newcastle coach Alan Pardew was handed a hefty seven-game ban by the English FA for headbutting Hull City midfielder David Meyler during a Premier League game onMarch 1. The first three matches are a full stadium ban while the remaining four are a touchline ban. The Newcastle boss was additionally fined 60,000 pounds ($100,000) and warned about his futureconduct.
“As I have made clear, I deeply regret the incident and again wholeheartedly apologize to all parties for my conduct, which I understand was not acceptable,” Pardew said in astatement. “I will accept the punishment handed down by the FA today. My focus now turns to preparing the team for this weekend’s game against Fulham and finishing the season as strongly aspossible.”
The FA noted in its report that there was no precedent for a Premier League manager headbutting a player.