Newcastle demand 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 them 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."

Newcastle are also adamant that the performances of Atkinson and his linesmen in the City defeat should be investigated by referees' chiefs.

The statement continued: "Newcastle United will also be writing to the appropriate body regarding the performance of the match officials, specifically the referee, in relation to a number of incidents during the game, including the tackle on Ben Arfa."

Ben Arfa, who had broken both the bones in his lower left leg, underwent a successful surgery to repair the damage on Monday but it is not yet known how long he will be out of action.

De Jong was also widely criticised after his waist-high lunge on Spain's Xabi Alonso during the World Cup final in July, but he has been unable to tone down his ferocious tackling.

However, City's assistant manager Brian Kidd defended De Jong in his post-match press conference, saying: "There is no malice in Nigel whatsoever. He is not that type of lad."

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