FA silent on Blatter blast

The Football Association has refused to respond to comments made by FIFA chief Sepp Blatter that Tim Cahill should not have been sent off for his bare-chested goal celebration.

Cahill scored the winner for Everton against Manchester City on Saturday and reacted by pulling his shirt over his head, a move which earned him a second yellow card from referee Steve Bennett who was following rules introduced by FIFA.

Blatter waded into the dispute yesterday by claiming Bennett should only have spoken to Cahill. He said: “A referee should never expel a player just because he pulled a shirt over his head.”

But FA head of media Adrian Bevington replied: “We do not want to give any reaction to what Blatter said but we can explain the directive over goal celebrations as set down by FIFA.

“It is a universal interpretation of the directive, it is not just England going it alone. FIFA issued a few examples as guidelines, from removing the shirt completely to pulling over the head.

“This law was discussed at some length by the International Football Association Board, of which the FA is a member. Any interpretation of the law had to be agreed by FIFA before it came into effect."