Barton appeared to lash out during the first half of his side's 4-1 defeat at Villa Park on Saturday but the incident was not spotted by referee Lee Mason at the time, and the official also made no reference to the incident in his post-match report.
The FA have, however, deemed that the issue is worthy of further investigation and their Football Regulation committee will look at the pictures, and ask for Mason's opinion on them, before deciding whether to charge Barton.
A spokesman told PA Sport that if Mason admits he would have taken action against the Newcastle player had he seen the clash, the FA are likely to pursue the matter further.