Butt facing three-match European ban

NEWCASTLE midfielder Nicky Butt is facing up to the possibility of a three-match European ban for his moment of UEFA Cup madness.

Butt lost his cool with Hapoel Bnei Sakhnin skipper Abas Suan just two minutes after replacing Kieron Dyer in Thursday night's stormy 2-0 victory at St James' Park, grabbing the player by the throat as the game turned ugly.

Portuguese referee Antonio Costa wasted little time in showing Butt the red card and also dismissed Suan for a second bookable offence and now the former Manchester United star will wait to hear his fate, although United are expecting the worst.

Butt will receive an automatic one-match ban for his sending-off but UEFA's disciplinary chiefs have the discretion to increase that to either two or three games depending on their view of the severity of his misdemeanour.