Why has Notts County's Alassana Jatta been banned for three matches?

Notts County have been dealt a blow in their quest for automatic promotion from League Two after striker Alassana Jatta was handed a three-match ban.

The Magpies are firmly in the mix to return to League One for the first time since 2015 as they sit outside the top three on goal difference behind Cambridge United.

Martin Paterson's men had the opportunity to move level on points with MK Dons in second on Good Friday, but they were defeated 2-1 by promotion rivals Salford City in a dramatic conclusion to the game which saw County's Luke Browne equalise in the fifth minute of stoppage time before Salford's Matt Butcher netted the winner a minute later.

If Friday's defeat at the Peninsula Stadium hadn't left a bitter taste in the mouths of County supporters, then the subsequent suspension of Jatta for an incident in the latter stages of the match against Salford might.

On Jatta's suspension, an FA statement read: "The forward's behaviour around the 79th minute of the fixture wasn't seen by match officials at the time, but it was caught on video, and the FA subsequently alleged that it constituted violent conduct.

"Alassana Jatta admitted the charge against him and accepted the standard punishment of a three-match suspension for violent conduct."

The incident in question is understood to be an off-the-ball altercation with a Salford defender.

Jatta is County's top scorer this season with 15 goals this season, but the striker will now miss crucial fixtures against Newport County, Cambridge United and Barnet as the League Two campaign nears its conclusion.

The Gambian star, who joined Notts County from Danish outfit Viborg in February 2024, was sent off in the first leg of the play-off semi-finals against AFC Wimbledon last season, a tie that saw their promotion hopes evaporate as they lost 2-0 on aggregate.

Magpies boss Paterson had been critical of his team's disciplinary record earlier in the season after Oliver Norburn received their fifth red card of the season in the defeat to Oldham Athletic at the end of March.

"When you are pushing for things in the league, five sending-offs generally means you are not going to quite get there because it's just too many," Paterson told BBC Radio Nottingham.

County's defeat to Salford also ended in unsavoury scenes as Paterson clashed with Luke Garbutt in the centre circle, sparking a brawl between both sets of players. Paterson was later dragged away by members of his coaching staff, and the former Burnley forward suggested Salford's celebrations at the full-time whistle were disrespectful.

He told BBC Radio Nottingham: "Football, whether you like it or not, is an emotional game.

"I don't think you should hide that from anybody, it's an emotional game.

"At the end, I'm only getting involved because I think the way the boys celebrated right in front of the bench was disrespectful.

"I think it was good, hard game, played in the right manner. I think away from home you're always going to lay on the other side of decisions sometimes.