Tottenham vs West Brom: Erik Lamela escapes punishment after Marko Arnautovic clash

Tottenham Hotspur winger Erik Lamela will not face a disciplinary charge from the Football Association (FA) after a clash with Stoke City forward Marko Arnautovic during the Premier League match at the Britannia Stadium. Lamela appeared to catch Arnautovic with a flailing elbow in an off-the-ball incident during the second half and though no action was taken by referee Neil Swarbrick, IBTimes UK understands he and his team of officials saw the episode. Crucially, the FA has not chosen to take retrospective action on the incident, even though this is now permitted.

An adjustment to the rule regarding retrospective punishments was made 2013 permitting the FA to punish players from incidents initially seen by the match officials. The governing body has, however, decided against reprimanding Lamela, who is now free to play in Spurs' four remaining Premier League matches starting against West Bromwich Albion on Monday (25 April).

The FA took action against Chelsea striker Diego Costa following the game against Arsenal in September that saw the Spain international banned for three matches after a clash with Laurent Koscielny at Stamford Bridge. The Tottenham man will, however, not face such a stern penalty in a boost to the club's title aspirations.

Lamela has been a key figure in Tottenham's bid for a first league championship for 55 years, making seven assists and scoring four goals in 30 domestic appearances this term. The Argentina international netted 11 times in the north Londoners' run to the Europa League last 16 including in the hammering of Fiorentina in February.

And with the 24-year-old now free to feature in the title run-in, Lamela is ready to help keep the pressure on leaders Leicester City, who are just five points ahead after Tottenham's fine win at Stoke. "It was a very important win to keep the pressure on Leicester, both teams now have four games left and we just need to try to win every one," Lamela told the club's official website.

"I think we played a very good game, the second half was incredible and we could have scored more goals. I'm happy when we win like this, playing very well. I think these three points will help us to keep moving and now we are waiting for the next game."