Ashley Barnes Gets Away With Matic Tackle

Burnley’s Ashley Barnes will not be punished for his ugly tackle on Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic, the English Football Association announced on Monday.
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The foot up and studs showing challenge, labelled “criminal” by Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho, in the 70th minute of Saturday’s 1-1 draw resulted in Matic’s sending off for lashing out angrily.
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While the Serbian midfielder was dismissed, Burnley forward Barnes went unpunished by referee Martin Atkinson and the Clarets took advantage of their numerical advantage to snatch a late equaliser.
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Having initially gone to ground in pain, Matic ran towards Barnes and bundled him to the ground, earning the red card.
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Chelsea are reportedly set to appeal against Matic’s three-game ban, but Mourinho had also suggested that action should be taken against Barnes, who was not even cautioned.
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But the FA revealed on Twitter that it would not be punishing the Clarets forward, and explained the rationale over five posts.
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They read: “In the vast majority of challenges for the ball, no retrospective action is taken as the incident has been seen by the match officials.
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“Retrospective action introduced as deterrent for ‘off the ball incidents’ (kicks, stamps etc) committed out of sight of officials.
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“Whole game in agreement that, in vast majority of cases, match officials are best-placed to deal with incidents to avoid re-refereeing.
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“In line with this rationale, FA confirm no further action in relation to Ashley Barnes as incident was seen by the officials.”