Michael Essien had already received a red card prior to this horrendous tackle on Jermaine Pennant against Stoke City on Saturday. After seeing this evidence, it should have been another red to add to the statistics, but instead of that, the Chelsea midfielder went unpunished - not even a yellow card.
Meanwhile, Wayne Rooney has been banned for two games by the FA for swearing into a television camera after completing a fantastic hat-trick and stunning comeback for Manchester United. His outburst will see him miss the Manchester derby, and the Premier League game against Fulham as United fight to stay above Arsenal in the title race.
It seems that the FA have punished a player by punishing the club he plays for rather than punishing the player. The banning of Rooney could possibly have an adverse effect on United's FA Cup challenge as well as their title challenge with Arsenal. The banning of Rooney for swearing - which, lets face it, happens every week and done so by every player on the pitch is nothing when a tackle such as the above is committed - something that can break a players leg and wreck a career.
Rooney's reputation has been damaged even more by this incident and his frustration has been added to by a two match ban, but Jermaine Pennant's career could have been deeply effected, yet there was no punishment but a free-kick.