FA to take no action on Bowyer and Barton

THE Football Association has quashed the red card issued to Lee Bowyer last weekend and also opted to take no further action against Joey Barton.

West Ham midfielder Bowyer was dismissed on Saturday by referee Mark Clattenburg for an alleged two-footed tackle on Birmingham captain Damien Johnson in the Barclays Premier League clash at Upton Park.

Barton, meanwhile, was involved in an incident with Shaun Maloney during Newcastle's 4-1 defeat at Aston Villa on the same day, when television pictures appeared to show him lashing out at the Villa forward.

But neither will face a suspension or any kind of sanction after the FA decided that no punishments were necessary in both cases.

Hammers manager Alan Curbishley revealed straight after the 1-1 draw with Blues that he had asked Clattenburg to reconsider his decision on the tackle, two minutes from the end of the match at Upton Park.

The London club lodged an official appeal

and FA officials sided with West Ham and have overturned Bowyer's dismissal for 'serious foul play', meaning an automatic three-match ban will no longer apply. Barton has also escaped punishment after TV replays of the tussle were deemed "inconclusive".