Chelsea v Burnley: FA take no action against Ashley Barnes after challenge on Nemanja Matic

The Football Association has announced it will take no action against Burnley star Ashley Barnes for his challenge on Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic during the 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge on 21 February.

Barnes's foot was high as he attempted to win the ball from the Serbian midfielder in the second half of the game but referee Martin Atkinson decided against punishing him. However, he sent off the Chelsea midfielder, who reacted angrily by shoving the Clarets striker to the ground.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho described the Barnes tackle as "criminal" and suggested the Burnley player should be punished retrospectively in the same way Diego Costa was banned for three games for a stamp on Liverpool's Emre Can during the League Cup semi-final.

"This could be end of career. Because I can't find another adjective stronger, I just say this is end of career. Matic is a lucky guy. When Diego Costa has a three-match ban, probably three matches to Matic... tell me how many matches this player [Barnes] deserves?" Mourinho said.

However, the FA have officially announced through its Twitter account that it will not take action against the Burnley striker as the tackle was already seen by referee Atkinson, who decided to let Barnes carry on unpunished.

"In the vast majority of challenges for the ball, no retrospective action is taken as the incident has been seen by the match officials," the FA said in a statement on Twitter.

"Whole game in agreement that, in vast majority of cases, match officials are best-placed to deal with incidents to avoid re-refereeing.

"In line with this rationale, FA confirm no further action in relation to Ashley Barnes as incident was seen by the officials."

Meanwhile, according to several reports, Chelsea are set to appeal against Matic's three-game ban in order to have him available for the League Cup final against Tottenham on 1 March.