GRAHAM POLL: Why Malouda, Sturridge and Moyes will escape punishment... but Mancini faces a ban
Arms and elbows can be dangerous weapons in football matches and Portsmouth's Ricardo Rocha was rightly incensed after being felled by Chelsea's Florent Malouda at Fratton Park on Wednesday evening.
The Frenchman jumped into his opponent with a leading arm and should have been sent off by referee Lee Mason. The fact that Mason only issued a yellow card means that the FA cannot act in retrospect.
The same will not apply to Daniel Sturridge after his clash with Tommy Smith during the same Premier League clash.
Whilst Mason took no action, suggesting he missed the contact that Sturridge's elbow made with his opponents nose, it will be very difficult to decide whether the Chelsea striker caught Smith completely by accident.
Therefore I would not anticipate a charge following - particularly as the FA tends to ask the referee what action he would have taken had he seen the incident clearly. Given that Mason only cautioned Malouda it would be completely inconsistent if he claims he would have dismissed Sturridge.
The FA will also be studying match reports and video footage from Eastlands following the dismissals of both managers after they clashed in the technical area towards the end of the Manchester City v Everton match.
However, David Moyes and Roberto Mancini should see very different outcomes after it appeared that the Italian was to blame when shoving Moyes to get the ball back into play.
For that he should get a touchline ban despite an excellent disciplinary record in the past, which could save him given the current weak approach from the FA.
Moyes appeared blameless and unless his comments were the cause of his expulsion from the technical area then I would expect him to be able to carry on coaching from the touchline as Everton seek to continue their run towards a European place.
