Stoke defender Robert Huth has apologised for the incident in Saturday's match against West Ham when he struck Matthew Upson across the face.
The German was on Monday charged with violent conduct by the Football Association after his swinging arm was missed by referee Martin Atkinson.
Huth and his club have accepted the player's guilt and are awaiting his punishment from the FA and they released a statement, saying: "Stoke and Robert Huth accept the FA charge of violent conduct and would like to apologise for the incident at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday."
The statement continued: "All players were briefed at the beginning of the season about obstructing opponents at set-plays and Robert reacted in frustration at being impeded by Matthew Upson for the second time in the game, stopping him from marking James Tomkins at set-pieces as instructed.
"Robert Huth's actions are totally out of character for a fully committed defender who has only received one red card - for two cautions - in nearly eight years of playing in the Premier League.
"We await the FA verdict on the incident."
Comment 1 - 4 of 4
No excuses mate, it was simply wrong and the apology only sounds half-hearted. Why not let the football do the talk instead of striking other players?
I don't think Upson or anyone else should be too impressed by a statement that boils down to "Yeah but he made me do it". No doubt Stoke will be claiming that this mealy-mouthed 'apology' should act to reduce Huth's ban.
What Huth did was unquestionably wrong even if he was frustrated at being impeded. Matthew Upson's bleeding face, however, was from an earlier incident in the game where he stooped for a low header and caught Ryan Shawcross' boot in the face. Just putting the record straight...
I know from personal experience that Robert Huth is a @#$%.
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