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• ‘He has got away with it and we move on’ says Brown
• ‘If it had been me I would have got a three-match ban’

Michael Brown of Portsmouth believes Steven Gerrard “got away” with elbowing him in the back of the head during his side’s 4-1 defeat at Liverpool on Monday, but maintains there is no lingering hard feelings towards the England midfielder.

Gerrard appeared to strike Brown in the 73rd minute of the Premier League match and the Liverpool captain was substituted immediately afterwards.

However, the Football Association was unable to take any retrospective disciplinary action as the match referee, Stuart Attwell, saw the incident at the time and spoke to Gerrard after awarding Portsmouth a free-kick.

Brown said: “It is fantastic if you can get away with it, isn’t it? It is amazing. He has obviously caught me, but let’s move on.

“I am not here to say he should be suspended, he has got away with it, and we move on. But if it had been me, I am sure I would have got a three-match ban, no question. It was not a huge deal. Yes, he could have got punished, but he didn’t.”

Brown added: “He could have got a three-match ban, but the referee says he has seen it, and there is no problem from me. Good luck to him, if the FA feel they do not need to punish him, then fair play.”

At Wigan, Gerrard escaped punishment after appearing to flash a V-sign at referee Andre Marriner.

Steven GerrardLiverpoolPortsmouthPremier Leagueguardian.co.uk