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Wigan chairman Dave Whelan has called for Michael Essien to be banned for ten games after the horror tackle he dealt out to Liverpool's Dietmar Hamann.

The Chelsea star has since been charged by Uefa for the lunge in Tuesday night's UEFA Champions League clash, which went unpunished at the time.

For Whelan the tackle brought back painful memories as his career was ended by a broken leg sustained in the FA Cup final of 1960, and on that occasion Wolves man Norman Deeley was the guilty party.

Wigan take on the Premiership champions on Saturday, and Essien is expected to feature having impressed since his summer move from French giants Lyon.

Essien is set to be censured under the charge of gross unsporting conduct, and Whelan believes that the Ghanaian midfielder should be forced onto the sidelines for no less than ten games.

"It was diabolical, and I just can't understand how the referee can allow anything like that without taking some sort of action," said Whelan.

"Essien should be out of the game for ten games. You cannot go in over the ball like that.

"It was exactly the same sort of tackle that broke my leg and finished my career.

"There is no place in the game for that sort of thing. It was the worst tackle I have seen in a long, long time.

"You should get a minimum six to ten-game ban. It was very dangerous. How the guy didn't break his leg I don't know."

Whelan also accused Essien of making no attempt to win the ball in the challenge against Hamann.

"When it happened to me they didn't even give a foul. Nothing. He [Deeley] went straight over the ball, and the next thing I know I'm being stretchered off," Whelan continued.

"It was the same with Essien. The ball didn't matter, it was the man he wanted. He went for the man, and it was a really nasty tackle.

"If one of our players did that it would be the boss' job to deal with it, not mine.

"But I'm sure he would not condone any tackle of that nature."

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