FA will not take action against Cole

The Football Association have confirmed they will not be taking any disciplinary action against Arsenal defender Ashley Cole for his part in the dismissal of Birmingham’s Aliou Cisse at Highbury on Saturday.

Cisse was sent off for a second yellow card, awarded for a challenge that left Cole on the floor, apparently injured.

The England left-back came in for criticism after that game that he had been play-acting, with David O’Leary claiming his behaviour was "disgraceful".

Referee Mike Riley yesterday requested the second booking, and therefore the red-card, be rescinded after television replays showed that contact was minimal.

Cole has vehemently denied trying to get another professional sent off, saying: "I do not dive. I am not a cheat and I have never tried to get another player sent off. Never."

And the FA today announced that no action would be taken against him.

A statement on their website read: "The FA can confirm that further to Mike Riley’s decision to review his decision on the Aliou Cisse tackle that led to his dismissal on Sunday, no action will be taken against Arsenal’s Ashley Cole, who was involved in the challenge with Cisse."

Meanwhile, Charlton have filed an appeal against the dismissal of their England Under-21 full-back Paul Konchesky during the 3-2 defeat to Chelsea on the opening day of the season.

Konchesky was shown red for an alleged elbow on Blues midfielder Enrique De Lucas, but manager Alan Curbishley has studied video evidence and appealed to the FA.

He told the club’s website www.cafc.co.uk: "The video clearly shows that there was an accidental clash of heads between the two players, and at no time was an elbow involved. Therefore we’re asking the FA to take a look at the incident."

The FA confirmed they are "considering video evidence of the incident before deciding upon what course of action take".