Steven Gerrard to escape FA action over Wigan 'V-sign'
Steven Gerrard to face no further action from FA over apparent V-sign gesture towards referee Andre Marriner
Wednesday, 10, Mar 2010 05:10
By Matthew Champion.
Steven Gerrard will not be punished by the Football Association over an apparent V-sign gesture he showed referee Andre Marriner during Liverpool's 1-0 defeat to Wigan.
The Reds skipper appeared to swear and make the gesture towards the referee after he was booked towards the end of the match at the DW Stadium, one of five yellow cards the away side earned.
But the FA said it could not take any retrospective action as Marriner had not included it in his match report.
Gerrard could have faced a three-match ban if found guilty of unsportsmanlike conduct.
Earlier his manager Rafa Benitez had defended his captain, saying it was a "nothing" gesture.
"Sometimes you move your fingers. It was nothing. We are not considering it, it was nothing," he said.
"All the players know they have to behave on the pitch. I was more worried about the silly fouls we were giving to Wigan."
Defeat on Monday left Liverpool's Champions League qualification hanging by a thread, with the Reds in sixth place, even outside the Europa League qualification positions, with 48 points from 29 games.
Manchester City (played 27) and Tottenham Hotpsur (played 28) are ahead of them on 49 points, with Aston Villa back in seventh on 45 points, although Martin O'Neill's side have only played 26 games.