Joey Barton has escaped disciplinary action by the FA after and incident involving Shaun Moloney on Saturday, while Lee Bowyer's red card from the weekend has been quashed.

Newcastle midfielder Barton clashed with Maloney during the Magpies' 4-1 defeat at Villa Park, with television pictures appearing to show him lashing out at the Aston Villa man.

But the replays were deemed "inconclusive". Referee Lee Mason did not see the incident at the time but after reviewing footage of the first-half clash he could not say whether it would have warranted a red card.

The issue has, therefore, been dropped by the FA, meaning Barton is free to continue playing for the struggling Magpies.

In Bowyer's case, he was dismissed by referee Mark Clattenburg for an alleged two-footed tackle on Birmingham captain Damien Johnson in the Premier League clash at Upton Park.

But the three-match ban that would have followed the red card has been withdrawn after the FA decided no punishment was necessary.

Hammers manager Alan Curbishley revealed straight after the 1-1 draw with Blues that he had asked Clattenburg to reconsider his decision on the tackle, two minutes from the end of the match at Upton Park.

The London club lodged an official appeal before yesterday's noon deadline and the case was heard by the FA at Soho Square today.

Officials sided with West Ham and have overturned Bowyer's dismissal for 'serious foul play', meaning an automatic three-match ban will no longer apply.