The Football Association have revealed no formal action will be taken against Newcastle midfielder Joey Barton for his controversial challenge on Dickson Etuhu.

Referee Martin Atkinson did not punish Barton's high studs tackle on the Sunderland player in Saturday's 1-1 draw but did see the incident so the midfielder will not be disciplined.

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

"Whilst 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."