Phil Brown, the Hull City manager, has called on the FA to hand a lengthy ban to Danny Guthrie after it was revealed that the Newcastle United midfield player’s crude hack on Craig Fagan left the Hull forward with a broken leg. Fagan faces up to three months on the sidelines, while Guthrie was given a three-match suspension for his red card.

Guthrie, who apologised last night, was given a straight red card for his kick at Fagan as the forward tried to play out time by running towards the corner flag in the last minute of the Barclays Premier League match on Saturday. Fagan, 25, continued playing but his leg began to swell after the 2-1 win. He left St James’ Park on crutches and a scan yesterday showed that he suffered a fractured right tibia and is likely to be out of action for between six weeks and three months.

Brown said that the FA should intervene because Fagan was fortunate not to be more severely injured. “It could have been a career-threatening challenge and if there is a commission to analyse red and yellow cards, then there should be one for this type of incident because three matches is not sufficient as far as I’m concerned,” Brown said.

The FA can take further action if it considers the tackle severe. Ben Thatcher was given an eight-match suspension after the FA reviewed video evidence in 2006. The left back, who was playing for Manchester City at the time, knocked Pedro Mendes, the Portsmouth midfield player, unconscious with a forearm smash in a match at the City of Manchester Stadium. Mendes woke up in hospital.

That incident does not compare to Guthrie’s foul on Fagan, but Brown said that it has no part in the game. “It cannot be tolerated, it needs to be kicked out of the game,” the Hull manager said. “When you see that the end product is him putting a fellow pro in a cast, it’s just not right. That’s the horrible side of the game.

“I believe it was a coward’s challenge. It was trying to show the Newcastle fans that he cares. He’s definitely got a three-match ban but how can kicking a fellow professional in front of 50,000 people prove that you’re a hard man? He could be out for six weeks, he could be out for three months, who knows?”

Marlon King scored both goals, the first from the penalty spot, as Hull secured their second win of the season, lifting them to fourth in the table. The Newcastle players, in contrast, were struggling to deal with the protests that followed the departure of Kevin Keegan as manager.

“I don’t care what is going on at Newcastle, you cannot tolerate this,” Brown said. “If I go back to the incident, my players were killing time in the corner, something that every Premier League club does, no matter who you are. In the process of doing that, someone has decided to take the matter into his own hands and lashed out at Craig Fagan”.

Guthrie, who joined Newcastle from Liverpool this summer, has offered to apologise personally to Fagan, but as yet Hull are reluctant to accept that offer. He said that the tackle reflected the frustration of all around him. “I was very upset to hear the news concerning Craig,” Guthrie said. “The club have been in touch with Hull City on my behalf because I want to speak to Craig in person to apologise and wish him a speedy recovery. It was a challenge that came purely out of frustration towards the end of Saturday’s game, but anybody who knows me will accept it was totally out of character on my part.”