Newcastle midfielder Nicky Butt will sit out the club's next three European games after being banned by UEFA.

The 29-year-old was handed the maximum possible suspension by disciplinary chiefs yesterday after being red-carded within two minutes of being introduced as a substitute during last week's 2-0 UEFA Cup first-round victory over Israeli side Hapoel Bnei Sakhnin.

Butt was dismissed by Portuguese referee Antonio Costa after grabbing Sakhnin skipper Abas Suan by the throat as a feisty game at St James' Park erupted.

He will now miss the return leg in Tel Aviv next Thursday night and will play no part in the first two matches in the group stage of the competition should Newcastle progress.

That will come as a blow to a player who picked up a Champions League winners' medal with former club Manchester United in 1999, but also to Newcastle boss Graeme Souness, who has been hugely impressed with his club's summer acquisition.

Souness selected Butt for the tough Premiership trip to Southampton at the weekend just three days after his moment of madness, despite admitting his disappointment with his actions in the aftermath of the European game.

Souness was delighted with Butt's response in the Southampton game.

"Everyone knows what Nicky Butt is - he's a vastly experienced midfielder on the international front and in Europe," he said.

"Let me tell you that nobody was more sad about the red card last week than Nicky himself, but it shows that you never stop learning in football and he will have learnt from that."

Souness was not unduly concerned about press photographs picturing Patrick Kluivert leaving a London nightclub at 2.0 a.m. on Wednesday and insisted that the Dutchman had broken no rules.

"My attitude is that they are young men and they have to have a time to relax," he said.

"There is also a time to work hard and since I have been here, Patrick Kluivert could not have worked any harder."

Indeed, Souness was even able to joke about the incident, adding: "The first thing I'm going to ask Patrick Kluivert is just where did he get such a terrible shirt?"

Meanwhile, London Fashion Week is finishing and the Milanese equivalent about to begin but neither is likely to feature the garment currently most coveted in Nottingham.

It costs £15 but Brian Clough-style green sweatshirts were walking off the shelves at Nottingham Forest's club shop yesterday as fans sought to honour their former manager, who died on Monday, by wearing replicas of his favourite top to Sunday's televised home game against West Ham United.

Sunday has been designated Green Day at the City Ground, with supporters urged to attend the match wearing something green, a concept Clough, who during his 18-year Trentside reign was invariably green sweatshirted, would surely appreciate.

Since his retirement there has always been a modest demand for replicas of the jersey in which he oversaw a league title win, two European Cup triumphs and four League Cup victories, but since Monday machinists at ANS, Forest's supplier, have been working overtime to meet demand.

Although the sweatshirt is essentially plain green, the stitching involved in the logo of a tree from Sherwood Forest is tricky and time-consuming.

Demand is far exceeding supply and only a few hundred fans will be able to don "official Cloughie tops" on Sunday.

"The embroidery requires a great deal of intricate work and means each sweatshirt takes 25-30 minutes to make," explained Kay Whitelam, manager of Forest's club shop, which sold 100 sweatshirts in less than two hours yesterday afternoon.

Green Day is the brainchild of Richard George, who works for the club's sponsor, Capital One.

"When I first started watching Forest at the age of seven I used to ask my dad to point Clough out and he told me to look for the man in the green jumper," said George, who floated the idea on a fans' forum and has been "astounded" by the response.

Real Madrid defender Jonathan Woodgate has successfully recovered from a long-term thigh injury and should be ready to train with the rest of the team in a maximum of two weeks, according to club medical staff.

Doctor Juan Carlos Hernandez said that the England international, who signed for Real for €20 million in August, was being subjected to a pre-season training regime in order to recover his fitness after a five-month injury layoff.

"He's working really hard," Hernandez told the club's website. "In two weeks he should be able to train together with the rest of the team and soon after that he should be ready to play.

"He may even surprise us and be ready to train with the others next week but we have to take it one step at a time."

The 24-year-old England international has not played a competitive match since he tore a thigh muscle in a league match against Chelsea in April.

Aston Villa's Danish defender Martin Laursen has had knee surgery and will be out for up to eight weeks. The former AC Milan centre back, a member of the Denmark team that reached the Euro 2004 quarter-finals in Portugal in June, had the operation on Tuesday, manager David O'Leary told the club's website.

Laursen, who joined Villa from Milan for £3 million in the off-season, has not played since the Birmingham club's 3-0 defeat at Charlton Athletic on August 25th.

Barcelona produced a sparkling display at the Nou Camp to come from a goal down to roar to a 4-1 win over Real Zaragoza in the Primera Liga last night.

The Catalans bounced back from a double injury blow that saw fullbacks Silvinho and Gabri leave the field inside the first 10 minutes to join Valencia at the top of the table on 10 points from four games.

Visitors Zaragoza went ahead in the 15th minute when striker David Villa drilled home after snapping up a poor back pass from his opposite number Samuel Eto'o. But the African Player of the Year atoned for his error with a classy strike 10 minutes later, smashing home after controlling a fine long pass from Deco.

Eto'o added another a minute after the break and his side then turned on the style as midfielder Xavi and defender Giovanni van Bronckhorst stretched their lead with two spectacular strikes midway through the second half.