Review may suggest moving technical area after headbutt

London: The English League Managers Association is studying whether the positioning of football`s technical area could be improved in order to minimise incidents like the one in which Newcastle United`s manager Alan Pardew headbutted a Hull City player, chief executive Richard Bevan said on Sunday.

The LMA believes there might be fewer verbal and physical altercations involving managers and coaching staff if they were not allowed so close to the pitch and the fourth official. Bevan told the BBC`s Sportsweek programme: "It`s a little ironic that the LMA is currently conducting with a university a look into how the technical area operates, the behaviour, the position and objectives and also how the fourth official works. "We did a technical report six or seven months ago involving 40 referees and 40 managers, looking at how it works in other sports and looking to see if we can improve the positions." Although normally supportive of managers, Bevan agreed that Pardew`s behaviour in leaning his head into Meyler during the Premier League clash at Hull`s KC Stadium on Saturday was "unacceptable and insupportable". He was planning further talks later on Sunday with the Newcastle manager, who has already been fined 100,000 pounds by his club and given a formal warning. The Football Association chairman Greg Dyke said the incident will be investigated. That will almost certainly lead to a charge by the governing body that could result in a long ban from the touchline.