The Football Association are to investigate Michael Ball's
stamp on Cristiano Ronaldo and Michael Brown's alleged headbutt on
Xabi Alonso. Ball was lucky to escape a red card when he appeared
to stamp on Ronaldo during the Manchester derby on
Saturday.
The incident infuriated United boss Sir Alex Ferguson, but Ball
went unpunished by referee Rob Styles who missed the incident. City
chief Stuart Pearce admitted he would review the incident and now
the FA have confirmed they will study television footage before
taking any action.
Fulham captain Brown was also lucky to escape a sending off during
his side's 1-0 win over Liverpool. Brown appeared to headbutt
Alonso off the ball at Craven Cottage leaving the Spaniard with a
bloodied nose. The clash went unnoticed by referee Steve Bennett
and Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez expressed his frustration at the
officials missing the incident.
The FA will now look at both incidents before deciding whether or
not to charge Ball and Brown with violent conduct or the
more-serious offence of serious foul play. "We will look at the
television footage of the incidents tomorrow and ask the officials
what action they would have taken had they seen the incidents, and
any charges will be based on that," said an FA spokesman.