Barton could face FA punishment after Pedersen punch

Barton lashed out at Pedersen with a blow to his ribs that knocked the Norway international to the ground. The FA have now received the referee Michael Jones's report, and a statement was expected later yesterday. They could choose to take retrospective action against the player, most likely in the form of a three-game ban.

The Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce opted not to give his thoughts on the matter after the game, instead leaving the FA to deal with it. "I'm not really going to talk about that because I don't want to detract from our victory," he said. "Whoever will see it will see it and do whatever needs to be done." Pedersen offered a similar view, saying: "You saw the pictures. I don't want to speak much about it now." However, Blackburn's assistant manager Neil McDonald was less coy, saying: "It's obviously foolish and it's the wrong thing to do, but no doubt the powers that be will sort that out.