Robin van Persie escapes FA inquiry into 'elbow' incident

A HUGE sigh of relief was heard over the red and white quarter of north London on Monday evening after the FA disclosed they wouldn't be charging Robin van Persie with violent misconduct.

The Arsenal striker caught Aston Villa defender Carlos Cuellar with his elbow during the Gunners' FA Cup victory on Sunday, prompting Villa manager Alex McLeish to call for the Dutchman to be disciplined. "It was an elbow in the face, it was clear," he said after the game.

But in a statement issued yesterday, the FA said that "referee Michael Jones confirmed he saw the incident involving Robin van Persie and therefore the Arsenal forward faces no further action". Under FA regulations a player can only be disciplined if the referee failed to spot any act of foul play during the course of a game.

Spaniard Cuellar expressed his surprise that Van Persie had not been dismissed for the elbow, saying: "I want to think Van Persie's action was not intentional but the images are very clear and you can see the blow he landed with his elbow... perhaps the referee did not have a good view, but in normal circumstances that is a sending-off."

It's not the first time that Van Persie, who scored a brace in the 3-2 defeat of Villa, has been accused of rough-house tactics. After Arsenal had played Queens Park Rangers earlier in the season, QPR's then manager Neil Warnock said of the Dutchman: "He does get away with murder... Every long ball that comes in he gets his arm up. He fouls the centre-half, but he does it in a way that they don't give it, so it's obviously within the laws of the game."

Warnock was subsequently taken to task by Graham Poll, one of England's most experienced former referees, who said the Rangers boss had been trying to deflect attention away from his side's defeat. Poll added: "Van Persie did not merit this criticism. He uses his upper body strength and, generally, he is a strong centre forward who can hold the ball up well."

One player who the FA would like to hear from, however, is Newcastle midfielder Yohan Cabaye. The Frenchman allegedly lashed out with his foot at Brighton's Adam El-Abd during Saturday's FA Cup fourth round tie. Newcastle lost the match and now Cabaye has been charged with violent conduct and has until Tuesday evening to respond. ·