Manchester City wing-back Danny Tiatto has apologised for his two-footed lunge on Blackburn's David Thompson.
Tiatto's actions earned him a red card just minutes after he came on as a substitute in Sunday's 2-2 draw.
He now faces at least a one-match ban and City boss Kevin Keegan, who described the tackle as "unacceptable," has also vowed to fine the player the maximum two weeks wages.
"I didn't get a chance to speak to David after the game but I would like to apologise to him," Tiatto said. "There's no way that I intended to hurt him and I would like him to know that.
"It was a bad tackle. I accept that and I know I let the club and the rest of the players down.
"But despite the fact that so much is being made of it, I am not a malicious player and I would never go out to deliberately injure anyone".