Newcastle boss Alan Pardew will not face the sack over his headbutt on Hull City and Republic of Ireland midfielder David Meyler.
The 52-year-old’s job is safe despite calls for his head following the ugly incident at the KC Stadium on Saturday, which League Managers Association chief executive Richard Bevan branded it “unacceptable and inappropriate”.
Owner Mike Ashley is understood to be furious with Pardew’s conduct on the touchline and the club announced late on Saturday night that he has been fined £100,000 (€121,000) and been severely reprimanded.
However, while the former Reading, West Ham, Charlton and Southampton manager is likely to face further action from the Football Association the Magpies will not impose further punishment.
Pardew's latest touchline misdemeanour came with his side leading the Tigers 3-1 and well on their way to a 4-1 Barclays Premier League victory.
Meyler brushed past him inside his technical area as he chased the ball as it ran out of play, and the Newcastle manager reacted angrily, confronting the player before moving his head towards him.
After the ensuing melee had abated, referee Kevin Friend cautioned Meyler and then sent Pardew to the stands, from where he watched the remainder of the game.
He made a swift apology in his post-match interviews, one which was accepted by opposite number Steve Bruce, but that did not prevent his club from taking a dim view of his behaviour.
LMA boss Bevan was equally unimpressed, and told BBC Radio Five Live’s Sportsweek programme: “The buck stops with Alan. It’s unacceptable, it’s inappropriate and it’s insupportable from every perspective and Alan knows that.
“He immediately realised the serious error, (made) sincere apologies to all parties and obviously (has) deep regret.
“It was good to see (Hull boss) 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 embroiled in similar incidents.
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.”
Bevan also said the LMA was reviewing the technical area with a view to moving managers further away from the action.
He added: “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 admitted the tight confines of some of the old grounds would pose a problem, with the manager also needing to be kept out of the fans.
He added: “But what we can do is make a serious effort to look at how the technical area should be placed.”
Former FA executive director David Davies said a suspension for the remainder of the season was “conceivable” and described it as “a very serious matter which I suspect will be dealt with very severely”.
PA
