Man City star avoids FA punishment for Burnley theatrics

Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva will not be retrospectively punished for diving after winning a penalty against Burnley, the Football Association has announced.

The 23-year-old Portuguese forward angered Clarets players when he went down under a challenge from goalkeeper Nick Pope to win City a first-half spot-kick on Saturday.

However, in a tweet published on Monday, an FA spokesperson said: “Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva faces no further action for alleged simulation against Burnley FC on 21/10/17 after an FA panel review.”

The FA has introduced a new offence this season for “successful deception of a match official” and last week Carlisle’s Shaun Miller became the first player in English football to be punished under these terms.

In these instances a three-man panel of a former official, manager and player, review video evidence to determine if the player was guilty of simulation, with the punishment a two-match ban if they all agree.

Silva has avoided becoming the first in the top flight to earn such a suspension for an incident which his manager Pep Guardiola and Burnley boss Sean Dyche disagreed on.

 

READ MORE: Ref Review ~ Our take on Silva’s dive + much more

 

“It’s a penalty, I saw it,” Guardiola said after the game. “He touched – the goalkeeper – the right foot of Bernardo.”

While Dyche agreed there was contact, he thought Silva made the most of it.

“There is contact,” he said.

“I don’t know how the ref sees it because it is that instant, it’s minimal and to get that high off the floor with your arms above your head is almost a skill in itself. I’m quite impressed by how far he travelled. If I kicked my kid in the garden I don’t think he’d fall like that.

“The deciding factor is there is contact, but I don’t think there is enough contact to fall in that fashion.”