Newcastle United expressed their "disappointment" on Tuesday with both the FA and Wigan chairman Dave Whelan after the governing body said Callum McManaman would ecsape disciplinary action over his tackle on Magpies' full-back Massadio Haidara.
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McManaman, who was making his first league start, caught Haidara on the knee with his studs after careering into a tackle midway through the first half at the DW Stadium on Saturday in a Premier League match Wigan eventually won 2-1.
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The French full-back, 20, had to be carried off on a stretcher, but referee Mark Halsey did not punish 21- year-old McManaman for the challenge.
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An FA statement on Tuesday said that as match officials had seen the incident, the governing body was powerless to take retrospective disciplinary action.
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"Where one of the officials has seen a coming together of players, no retrospective action should be taken, regardless of whether he or she witnessed the full or particular nature of the challenge," the FA said in a statement. "This is to avoid the re-refereeing of incidents,
"In the case of McManaman, it has been confirmed that at least one of the match officials saw the coming together, though not the full extent of the challenge. In these circumstances retrospective action cannot be taken."
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Wigan chairman Dave Whelan defended McManaman's conduct on Monday, telling the BBC:
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"The ball was there and McManaman got the ball as clear as a whistle, then followed through and they collided.
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Whelan was speaking from experience, as he had his leg broken in the 1960 FA Cup final while playing for Blackburn Rovers.
Let Newcastle just forget about the whole issue. It could've happened to any player so it's no big deal to football