City relieved as Toure escapes ban

Manchester City have received a huge boost after the Football Association decided to take no action against midfielder Yaya Toure for an apparent kick at Norwich’s Ricky van Wolfswinkel.

The Ivory Coast star could have faced a three-match ban but the three-man panel of former elite referees which reviewed the incident did not unanimously believe it was an act of violent conduct.

That will come as a huge relief to City boss Manuel Pellegrini as his club chase the Premier League and FA Cup trophies.

It infuriated Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, who claimed if Toure was not suspended it would give carte blanche for other players to misbehave.

Mourinho said: “If he [Toure] is not suspended, the message is clear: the players can do what they want if the referee doesn’t see.”

Toure, arguably City’s most influential this season, will now be available for tomorrow’s league game against Sunderland, the FA Cup fifth round match against Chelsea at the weekend, and the league fixture against Stoke.

Norwich boss Chris Hughton saw the incident and though he said Toure did kick his player, he admitted it was a “minimal incident”.