Newcastle boss Joe Kinnear has apologised to referee Martin Atkinson following the 2-1 defeat at Fulham in which he criticised the officials "Mickey Mouse" decisions. "I'm sorry if my post-match comments at Fulham caused any offence, and I'll ring Martin Atkinson in person to tell him," said Kinnear.

"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 Cacapa.

"However, having said this, I have accepted that some of my comments were in appropriate, and I will be calling Martin Atkinson to say that."