Essien: UEFA wait for reports

UEFA are hanging fire on whether to take action following Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien’s controversial challenge on Dietmar Hamann during last night’s draw against Liverpool in the Champions League game at Stamford Bridge.

European football’s governing body are awaiting reports from referee Herbert Frandel and match delegate Indrek Kannik of Spain.

They are expected to arrive within the next few days and it might be it is the German official and not the player who is carpeted.

Frandel did not penalise Essien for his lunge at Hamman – the Liverpool midfielder described it as “the worst tackle I have experienced in my career.”

A UEFA spokesman said: “The fact that he did not show any card does not mean that UEFA later can say it was an incident for a red card or yellow.

“But there will be evaluation of the referee as always by the match observer.”