Manchester City have expressed their disappointment with the Football Association after they decided to ban midfielder Gareth Barry for one match.

The England international “reluctantly” accepted his charge of using abusive and/or insulting words to Mark Clattenburg, who was fourth official during the Manchester derby last Sunday.

However, due to the player’s good disciplinary record in the past, both Barry and Manchester City officials are angered by the decision and have written to the FA.
They have argued that abusive language is unavoidable in the sport, like in any, and the player should not miss City’s next game, away to Newcastle on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Roberto Mancini looks set to lose out in his attempts to delay the Toure brothers’ departure to the Africa Cup of Nations in January.

Yaya and brother Kolo, along with Abdul Razak are set to be named in the Ivory Coast squad for the tournament in South Africa and Mancini had hoped he could keep his players past their trip to Arsenal on January 13.

However, Ivory Coast have a right to call-up the players 14 days before the tournament starts which would enable them to take the players from January 5 for pre-tournament preparations, meaning all three players would miss the FA Cup third round tie against Watford.