Robin Van Persie Escapes Sanction, EPL Ban: Chelsea Coach Jose Mourinho Slams FA's Ruling On Manchester United Striker's Elbow On West Ham’s James Tomkins
This past weekend's Barclays Premier League match between Manchester United and West Ham United ended in a 1 - t draw between the EPL teams, but West Ham defender James Tompkins left the game with an injured nose after two elbows to the face. Though he admits that the elbow he received from Manchester's Marouane Fellaini wasn't intentional, he's calling the initial attack from striker Robin Van Persie "malicious." The Netherlands player received no sanction or ban from the Football Association for the elbow, which has Chelsea FC coach, Jose Mourinho claiming the FA is going easy on the player, but not his squad. Read more about this story below!
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"The nose is a bit swollen. Fellaini was the second time in the match when I broke it. He has always got that about him when he goes up with his hands a lot," Tomkins said in a press conference according to The Guardian. "It is tough to say he does it deliberately, but with the Van Persie one, I think he had a look at me first and then he has gone for me. I think that was more malicious than the other one, even though I came out worse the second time."
He added: "I think it was definitely a yellow at least but I don't like to say that someone should have got sent off. I am sure there are challenges that I might make in the future that could be yellow or something else."
Though the FA did not penalize Van Persie during or after the match, Chelsea player Diego Costa received a 3-game ban from the Football Association for an altercation with Emre Can of Liverpool during the Capital One Cup semi-final game last month.
Considering the Costa ban and the Van Persie outcome, Jose Mourinho addressed the issue recently, slamming the FA for singling out his players over others.
"I paid lots of attention this weekend. The same people who suspended my player didn't want to suspend another player this weekend, and a player could have been suspended this weekend and he wasn't. I'm still processing that information." Mourinho said, according to The Guardian. "Somebody who did this [gestures an elbow when Van Persie's name was put to him] in the face of somebody, and nothing happened. I know that if it was one of mine ... "
What do you think of this news? Should Van Persie get the same punishment as Costa? Let us know in the comments section below!