Yaya Toure has escaped punishment for appearing to stamp on Ricky Van Wolfswinkel during Saturday’s game at Carrow Road. The Ivorian appeared to kick out at the Canaries striker in an off the ball incident during the goaless draw, but referee Jonathan Moss took no immediate action. FA Chiefs could have still charged Toure with violent conduct after the injury-time incident was reviewed by a three-man panel of former elite referees.
The panel was set up to to advise what action, if any, they believe the match referee should have taken had the incident been seen at the time. However, for the FA to charge Toure all 3 members of the panel must agree it was a sending off and in this case, the panel were not all in agreement and therefore no action could be taken.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, whose side face Man City in the FA Cup on Saturday, had earlier today urged the FA to take action against Toure,
He said, “If the FA defends football, he will be suspended.”
When asked if he would be upset if the FA took no action, he replied, “Of couse or it is the same for everybody else from now.”
Norwich manager Chris Hughton also felt the stamp deserved a red card, he said,
“It did go unnoticed and there was no doubt a slight kick out there. There was certainly something, but where it was enough for a red card remains unseen.”
By Ben Kelly
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