McCabe 'furious' over Morgan suspension

The captain of Sheffield United, Chris Morgan, has been found guilty of violent conduct and banned for three games by the Football Association.

The defender was charged after appearing to punch the Gunners' striker Robin van Persie in the Blades' victory against Arsenal on 30 December. He denied the charge but a disciplinary commission decided to suspend him.

An FA statement said: "Referee Lee Mason confirmed to the FA that he did not see the incident but would have shown Morgan a red card for violent conduct if he had seen it."

The chairman of Sheffield United, Kevin McCabe, had said he was "furious" that Morgan had been charged, especially after Morgan's sportsmanlike attitude to recent incidents when he was on the receiving end of questionable challenges by Aston Villa's Juan Pablo Angel and Wigan Athletic's Lee McCulloch.

"I just hope common sense prevails," McCabe said, before the FA's decision. "This really makes no sense to me whatsoever. I was furious when I heard the news. Chris was clearly caught by Angel, everyone could see it, and they [the FA] do nothing. I know there are systems to follow but if they don't do anything about that how can they do this? He was a model of restraint after those two things happened.

"I don't usually like to get involved in the football side of things but I'm more than happy to make an exception in this case."

Morgan will miss Saturday's FA Cup third round match with Swansea City, and the Premiership matches against Portsmouth and Reading.