PORT Vale defender Dave Barnett is to be reported to the Football Association for decking United's Dean Windass after he had already been sent off.

In an astonishing last-minute flashpoint, Barnett was shown the red card for a second bookable offence, and then punched Windass, sending him crashing to the ground.

Players dived in to keep the two apart and Vale players helped lead Barnett off the field.

But the defender seems certain to collect an FA ban after referee Robert Styles confirmed to me: "I'll be reporting it to the FA, it will go on the end of my sending-off report. It was a striking incident - we are talking hand to face."

Asked whether he would have sent Barnett off for that, had he not sent him off already, Styles said: "Yes."

Windass said afterwards: "I don't really want to comment on it."

And Barnett was also keeping tight-lipped. "I'm not going to say anything about it. The second booking which got me sent off was very harsh, what happened after that I'm not prepared to say."

Vale manager John Rudge said: "I didn't see the incident myself. I'll have a look at the video before deciding what action to take."

Said United defender Phil Gilchrist: "It was just a flash in the pan. Barnett was going anyway and he lost it a bit."

Fans were left to wonder whether there was any history to the ill-feeling between Barnett and Windass. They came up against each other twice in the Scottish Premier Division last season when Barnett was with Dunfermline and Windass with Aberdeen.

The referee was strongly criticised by all parties on Saturday. Rudge said: "He had poor control of the game throughout."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.