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Posts Tagged ‘stuart-attwell’

• FA will take no action against Liverpool midfielder
• 29-year-old also escaped possible charge last week

Steven Gerrard will not face action from the Football Association following the Liverpool captain’s clash with Michael Brown during Monday’s 4-1 win over Portsmouth.

It is understood the FA sought clarification from the referee Stuart Attwell after Gerrard appeared to catch Brown with his forearm.

Attwell saw the incident at the time and spoke to Gerrard after awarding Pompey a free-kick, with the FA following guidelines not to punish players retrospectively if the match official sees the alleged offence.

Gerrard escaped punishment from the FA last week after apparently making a two-fingered gesture to the referee Andre Marriner during Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat away to Wigan.

Against Pompey, Benítez replaced his 29-year-old captain with Yossi Benayoun immediately after the incident with Brown, with victory a formality by that stage.

Victory against the Premier League’s bottom side meant Liverpool bounced back from back-to-back defeats, against Wigan and Lille in the Europa League, with the return leg against the French side on Thursday.

“We knew that it was a must-win game,” said the goalkeeper José Reina. “Fortunately we did it and performed really well. Hopefully we can do it again on Thursday.

“When the team is playing well, we can score at any time. For this 10 minutes [against Pompey], we were incredible.”

Steven GerrardLiverpoolPremier Leagueguardian.co.uk

• Liverpool midfielder could face three-match ban
• Gerrard would miss Manchester United match if banned

Steven Gerrard faces an anxious wait as the Football Association decides whether to take retrospective action against the Liverpool midfielder for apparently striking Michael Brown.

Gerrard appeared to lash out at the Portsmouth midfielder during Liverpool’s 4-1 win over the Premier League strugglers at Anfield last night and could face a three-match ban.

The two players were running towards the Portsmouth penalty area but as Brown tried to hold off the England international, Gerrard seemed to hit his opponent with his forearm.

The referee Stuart Attwell was only a few yards from the incident but took no action against the Liverpool captain. The FA are now expected to consult Attwell, with a three-match ban a potential punishment if Gerrard is deemed guilty.

If Gerrard is banned he would miss Sunday’s crucial match at Manchester United, the home game against Sunderland a week later and the visit to Birmingham on 3 April.

Only a week ago, Gerrard found himself in a similar situation for an alleged V-sign made at the referee Andre Marriner in the defeat at Wigan.

That went no further as the official said he had seen the incident at the time and decided it did not warrant any action, but Attwell will almost certainly be asked to look at this incident again by the Football Association.

However, the Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez is confident his captain will escape further punishment.

“I don’t think so,” said the Spaniard when asked if he was worried about retrospective action against his captain.

“I haven’t seen it but I was asking and I think it was nothing.”

Benítez also played down his immediate substitution of Gerrard, adding: “We were thinking of changing [Fernando] Torres, Glen Johnson and Gerrard and we did it.”

Portsmouth’s manager Avram Grant said he also did not see the incident but felt referee Stuart Attwell should have spotted it.

“I didn’t see it. I will speak with Michael Brown and then I will tell you,” he said.

“They told me the referee was four metres away from this so I think the referee needs to see from four metres what I didn’t from 40 metres. Personally I like Steven Gerrard. I think he is a good player and a fair player.”

Steven GerrardLiverpoolPortsmouthPremier LeagueJames Callowguardian.co.uk