Get the FREE Mirror Football newsletter by email with the day's key headlines and transfer news Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Yaya Toure and Craig Bellamy are facing bans in the first test of the FA rulebook since the Andy Carroll farce.

Three days after West Ham finally gave up on their doomed battle to overturn Carroll’s controversial red card against Swansea, damning video evidence is set to land both Toure and Bellamy with three-game suspensions.

TV pictures showed Manchester City powerhouse Toure kicking out at Norwich striker Ricky van Wolfswinkel in the last seconds of their goalless draw at Carrow Road.

Bellamy was also caught on camera, striking out at Swansea’s Jonathan De Guzman in the second half of Cardiff’s 3-0 mauling at the Liberty Stadium.

Referee Jon Moss had his backed turned to the Toure incident, while Andre Marriner appeared to only see the Bellamy clash out of the corner of his left eye.

Under new regulations, exclusively revealed by Mirror Sport last August and coming into force from the start of this season, the two referees will be asked to confirm they had no view or only a partial one of the respective clashes.

Once they do, the cases will immediately be referred to the three-man panel of former referees set up to judge such incident.

If all three ex-whistlers - likely to be Eddie Wolstenholme, Steve Dunn and Alan Wiley - agree the offences were worthy of red cards, the players will be served with instant bans, beginning with the clubs’ games this midweek.

A split decision would see no charge brought against the player.

The new system was used for the first time in November, when Fulham’s Sascha Riether received a three-match suspension for an unseen stamp in a clash with Manchester United’s Adnan Januzaj.

Stoke midfielder Charlie Adam, though, avoided a sanction after the panel viewed his Christmas fixture tackle on Spurs midfielder Paulinho, which ruled the Brazilian out for a month.

Both cases must be dealt with under the FA’s “fast-track” procedure, with a final decision over any ban by close of business on Monday.

Should either player deny a charge, in an attempt to free themselves for this week’s Premier League games, they would open themselves up to an extra match suspension.

The cost of both incidents could be high, with Man City and Cardiff facing crucial games.

Toure stands to miss the Quadruple-chasers' home league games with Sunderland and Stoke, as well as Saturday’s glamour FA Cup showdown with Chelsea.

Bellamy would miss Tuesday’s crunch clash with relegation rivals Aston Villa, an FA Cup tie against holders Wigan and the February 22 home game with Hull.

Neither Man City nor Cardiff would be expected to try to follow West Ham’s example and seek tribunals to query the validity of a process agreed between the clubs, the League Managers' Association, the PFA players' union, Premier League and FA last summer.

The Hammers’ claims about Chico Flores play-acting after the Carroll clash were further invalidated as it was confirmed FA proposals for retrospective punishments for simulation were vetoed by the Premier League and the clubs in July.