Newcastle Midfielder Joey Barton Lands Himself in Hot Water With the FA

Joey Barton has once again found himself making headlines for all the wrong reasons following his alleged strike at Blackburn's Morten Gamst Pederson.

The Newcastle bad boy has been in terrific form for the Magpies this season, claiming he is enjoying the spell of his career.

But the former Manchester City man was caught by SkySports' cameras striking Blackburn's opening goal scorer Pederson during Wednesday night's 2-1 defeat at St. James.

The incident went largely unnoticed in the Newcastle press box, only coming to light when SkySports showed Rovers boss Sam Allardyce the incident after the game.

After his viewing, Allardyce told SkySports:"He's taken a swipe. The referee hasn't seen it and it's very, very unfortunate and shouldn't have happened."

With referee Mike Jones missing the incident the Football Association (FA) can now take action on Barton, who is already one yellow card away from an automatic suspension.

With United's midfielder Cheick Tiote already one game away from an automatic suspension, losing the in form Barton could be a big blow to Hughton's side.

Newcastle must now bounce back from the disappointing loss to Blackburn when they face Fulham at St. James this Saturday.

It remains to be seen whether Barton will be available for selection for the crunch clash as United look to keep their impressive play going.