The Football Association have confirmed that Burnley midfielder Ashley Barnes will face no action for the challenge that he put in on Chelsea's Nemanja Matic at the weekend.
Speaking yesterday morning, Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho insisted that Matic was "very lucky" that his career had not been ended by the tackle, which saw Barnes plant his studs into the Serbian's leg.
Yet, despite the severity of the incident, Barnes was not even cautioned by referee Martin Atkinson, who instead sent off Matic for his retaliation.
There had been calls for Barnes to be punished retrospectively, but in a series of tweets this afternoon, the FA have revealed that because the episode had been seen by the match official, no suspension could be issued.
"In the vast majority of challenges for the ball, no retrospective action is taken as the incident has been seen by the match officials," read the statement on Twitter.
"Retrospective action [was] introduced as deterrent for 'off the ball incidents' [eg kicks, stamps etc] committed out of sight of officials.
"[The] whole game [is] in agreement that, in vast majority of cases, match officials are best-placed to deal with incidents to avoid re-refereeing. In line with this rationale, FA confirm no further action in relation to Ashley Barnes as incident was seen by the officials."
It has been suggested that Chelsea intend to appeal the red card received by Matic, although no official confirmation has been given as yet.
As it stands, the holding midfielder will miss Sunday's League Cup final against London rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
Liam Apicella
