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Kinnear sorry for rodent jibe
Newcastle United, 09:46, November 14, 2008 ,
Newcastle boss Joe Kinnear will apologise to Martin Atkinson after calling him a "Mickey Mouse referee" as he looks to avoid a ban.
Kinnear is standing by his claim that the Magpies should have been awarded a free-kick during the build-up to what turned out to be Fulham's match-winning penalty at Fulham last weekend.
But he admits he should not have resorted to Disney-themed abuse in his post-match comments which he must now explain to the FA.
Kinnear told the Echo: "When I spoke to the media on Sunday I was deeply frustrated about losing a game I felt we were in a strong position to win.
"I said at the time I had no complaints about the foul by Fabricio Coloccini on Andy Johnson, which brought Fulham their match-winning penalty. But I have watched the build-up to that goal, and I felt we should have been awarded a free-kick seconds earlier for a foul by Andy Johnson on (Claudio) Cacapa.
"However, having said this, I have accepted that some of my comments were inappropriate, and I will be calling Martin Atkinson to say that."