Newcastle demands FA punish De Jong
Newcastle on Tuesday demanded that the English Football Association take action against Manchester City midfielder Nigel de Jong over the horror tackle which left Hatem Ben Arfa with a broken leg.
French winger Ben Arfa, on loan at St. James' Park from Marseille, suffered a double leg fracture when he was the subject of a crunching challenge from Dutch midfielder De Jong in Newcastle's 2-1 defeat at City on Sunday.
De Jong has since been dropped by Holland after severe criticism from national team manager Bert van Marwijk, while Newcastle defender Jose Enrique has claimed that he should be banned for as long as Ben Arfa is sidelined.
Now Newcastle chiefs have written to the FA to ask it to look into the incident, which went unpunished by match referee Martin Atkinson.
A club statement said: "Newcastle United have today written a strongly worded letter to the Football Association in relation to the tackle by Manchester City's Nigel de Jong on Hatem Ben Arfa in Sunday's Premier League fixture, which resulted in Ben Arfa sustaining a broken tibia and fibula of his left leg.
"The club has asked the FA for the appropriate action to be taken against De Jong for the tackle which, in the club's opinion, was unnecessary and used excessive force."
Agence France-presse
(China Daily 10/07/2010 page12)
