Brighton & Hove Albion manager Chris Hughton has revealed that he is unhappy with the length of the ban handed to Tomer Hemed for an apparent stamp on Newcastle United defender DeAndre Yedlin.

During the closing stages of last weekend's 1-0 win, Hemed's studs made contact with Yedlin's calf after a challenge, and the forward has been handed a three-match suspension after the Football Association decided that the Israeli had committed a deliberate act.

However, Hughton maintains that Hemed is innocent, and suggested that the ban should not have been the same length as the punishments handed out for worse offences, including the challenge of Watford's Miguel Britos on Anthony Knockaert earlier this season.

The 58-year-old is quoted by The Mirror as saying: "We appealed against the Hemed decision because we genuinely felt - and still do - that there was no intent in what he had done. It's disappointing.

"When something goes against you like that you look at other circumstances and think there's maybe a little bit of an imbalance. It certainly doesn't seem right."

Hemed will remain sidelined for matches against Arsenal, Everton and West Ham United.