Pardew headbutt condemned

HULL, ENGLAND - MARCH 01: David Meyler of Hull City clashes with Alan Pardew, Manager of Newcastle United during the Barclays Premier League match between Hull City and Newcastle United at KC Stadium on March 1, 2014 in Hull, England. (Photo by Tony Marshall/Getty Images)

HULL, ENGLAND - MARCH 01: David Meyler of Hull City clashes with Alan Pardew, Manager of Newcastle United during the Barclays Premier League match between Hull City and Newcastle United at KC Stadium on March 1, 2014 in Hull, England. (Photo by Tony Marshall/Getty Images)

Published Mar 2, 2014

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London – Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew's headbutt on Hull player David Meyler was labelled “unacceptable” by England's League Managers' Association chief executive Richard Bevan on Sunday.

The Magpies boss was involved in one of the most extraordinary confrontations in Premier League history when he clashed with Meyler during his side's 4-1 away win at the KC Stadium on Saturday.

Pardew was fined £100,000 ($167,000) by Newcastle, who stopped short of sacking the fiery Englishman, and seems certain to face disciplinary action from the Football Association.

“It's unacceptable, it's inappropriate and it's insupportable from every perspective and Alan knows that,” Bevan told BBC Radio Five's Sportsweek programme.

“He immediately realised the serious error, (made) sincere apologies to all parties and obviously (has) deep regret.

“It was good to see (Hull manager) Steve Bruce's reaction and Hull accepting (Pardew's apology).

“But Alan does need to think hard about how not to put himself in that position again.”

Pardew said after the match he would have to “to sit down and stay out of the way” in future rather than roam his technical area to avoid getting caught up in similar incidents in future.

Bevan added: “I was pleased to see Newcastle in a very short period of time making a very swift, professional response that provided Alan with a very heavy fine and a formal warning.”

He also said the LMA was looking at ways to have managers positioned further away from the touchline in a bid to prevent future flare-ups.

“We did a technical report six or seven months ago, interviewing 40 referees and 40 managers, and we're looking at the moment how the technical area works in America, for example, in other sports and seeing how we can look to improve several problems that occur because of the positioning,” Bevan explained.

However, he accepted the tight dimensions of some of England's older football grounds would pose problems, particularly given the need to keep managers and coaching staff away from supporters.

“But what we can do is make a serious effort to look at how the technical area should be placed,” said Bevan.

Meanwhile former FA executive director David Davies said it was “conceivable” that Pardew could be suspended for the rest of the season, adding the incident was “a very serious matter which I suspect will be dealt with very severely”. – Sapa-AFP

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