Guthrie : No Further Punishment

Newcastle United have received a welcome boost with the news that Danny Guthrie will receive no further punishment on top of his three-game ban despite breaking Craig Fagan's leg.

Guthrie was sent off in the latter stages of the Magpies' 2-1 defeat to Hull City at St James' Park on Saturday after a wild challenge on Fagan. The Tigers forward has since been told he faces three months on the sidelines after scans revealed a broken leg. But the Football Association has revealed that it does not have the power to extend Guthrie's automatic three-game suspension.

"Every sending off carries an automatic sanction under the current regulations. The FA doesn't have the power to extend automatic suspensions. The only circumstances in which we could take any further action would be to issue an additional charge against a player. This occurs only in exceptional cases, such as Ben Thatcher's challenge on Pedro Mendes in 2006."

Thatcher received an eight-match ban with a further 15 games suspended for two years after the FA took action over the then Manchester City defender's elbow on Portsmouth's Mendes in a Premier League game in August 2006.