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Dyke 'baffled' by Torres escaping ban

Fernando Torres was expected to face further punishment © PA Photos

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FA chairman Greg Dyke has admitted it was 'baffling' that Fernando Torres escaped a ban for his scratch on Tottenham defender Jan Vertonghen last month.

Torres was widely expected to be handed a three-game suspension following his gouge on the Belgian defender, but the FA disciplinary committee opted to issue no further punishment after the Spanish striker was shown a yellow card for the incident by referee Lee Probert.

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"It can't be right for an obvious scratch on the face that Torres is not punished," Dyke told a Leaders in Football conference at Stamford Bridge.

"What this means is, despite the rules being changed in the summer, they clearly weren't changed enough when millions see this on TV and action is not taken. When millions of fans watching on TV can see an incident like this and the FA does not take action it is understandably baffling to everybody and has to be addressed.

"For the FA's disciplinary department to find itself in a position where it is not able to take action against an obvious scratch just can't be right. As FA chairman I don't like to be in a position where I cannot explain the rules when action should be taken when something is pretty obvious."

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho welcomed the FA's decision to issue no additional suspension to Torres, as he claimed the governing body of English football 'defended the principles of the Premier League' as they stood by the original decision of the match officials at White Hart Lane.

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