It has emerged that Ben Arfa is banned for Newcastle's first three Europa League games as he must serve a suspension that has been carried over from his time at Marseille.
In March 2010, Ben Arfa was dismissed in the closing stages of Marseille's Europa League game with Benfica for lashing out at Alan Kardec after he scored a last-minute winner for the Portuguese side.
The goal dumped Marseille out of the competition, and Ben Arfa has not played in Europe since. He is therefore suspended for both legs of the Atromitos game, and will also miss Newcastle's first group stage fixture if they progress this month.