McManaman to face no FA action over Haidara challenge

Mar 19, 2013 3:31:00 PM

The Wigan forward's knee-high tackle on the Newcastle full-back will go unpunished because referee Mark Halsey saw the incident during the match

The Football Association has confirmed that no retrospective action will be taken against Wigan forward Callum McManaman for his challenge on Newcastle defender Massadio Haidara.

The 21-year-old, who was making his first Premier League start in Sunday's game, connected with a knee-high challenge on the left-back, which was only partially seen by referee Mark Halsey.

Haidara suffered a suspected knee ligament injury from the challenge, while the FA has confirmed that no action will be taken against the Wigan striker because the incident had been seen by an official during the match.

A statement read: "The FA can confirm that no action can be taken against Wigan Athletic's Callum McManaman retrospectively following his side's game against Newcastle United on Sunday 17 March 2013.

"Following consultation with the game's stakeholders (the Premier League, the Football League, the Professional Footballers’ Association, the League Managers’ Association, Professional Game Match Officials Limited and the National Game) in the summer, it was agreed that retrospective action should only be taken in respect of incidents which have not been seen by the match officials.

"Where one of the officials has seen a coming together of players, no retrospective action should be taken, regardless of whether he or she witnessed the full or particular nature of the challenge. This is to avoid the re-refereeing of incidents.

"In the case of McManaman, it has been confirmed that at least one of the match officials saw the coming together, though not the full extent of the challenge. In these circumstances retrospective action cannot be taken.

"The principal objective behind the not seen policy is to address off the ball incidents where match officials are unlikely to be in a position to witness misconduct."

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