Birmingham City striker James McFadden branded Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger's calls for a life ban for Martin Taylor as "scandalous" after the defender's tackle left Eduardo da Silva with a broken leg.

McFadden said: "Martin is a gentle giant and to suggest otherwise is ridiculous. He has to live with the fact he has broken someone's leg unintentionally.

"He is really cut up. He broke someone's leg so he is going to be shaking from that.

"You have to think about Martin as well as the injured lad.

"I'm not even sure it was a red card. I think the ref made the decision on the injury, not the tackle. And when I heard Wenger's comments I thought they were scandalous."

In his immediate post-match interview Wenger called for Taylor, 28, to be banned for life but, a few hours later, admitted: "My comments were excessive. I said what I said in the heat of the moment."

That will be greeted with relief in the Birmingham dressing room. Former Gunner Seb Larsson said: "Martin is one of the nicest guys on earth. It was just a horrible accident."

Defender Liam Ridgewell added: "We'll rally round Martin. He's a fantastic guy and a loving family man. This was a freak-of-nature thing."

And team-mate Stephen Kelly revealed: "Martin has taken it pretty badly. It will affect him because he's such a nice person."

Former Brum boss Steve Bruce added: "Martin will take this to heart. He may even need some professional help to get over it."