Raheem Sterling's Slap and 10 Surprisingly Unpunished Football Incidents
Liverpool's clash with Swansea on Monday night brought with it two controversial incidents that should have resulted in red cards.
In the first half, Jonjo Shelvey swung an elbow at Emre Can in full view of referee Andre Marriner and his officials. Later in the game, Raheem Sterling struck out at Federico Fernandez, with the England star virtually having to clamber over assistant referee Mike Mullarkey to make contact.
Quite why these incidents went unpunished is not clear, but this is by no means the first time that footballers have escaped disciplinary measures on the field.
Here are 10 other moments when the referee missed behaviour worthy of a red card, several of which needed to be dealt with retrospectively...
Harald Schumacher's Mid-Air Collision
1 of 10German goalkeeper Harald "Toni" Schumacher earned global notoriety thanks to an incident in his country's 1982 World Cup semi-final against France.
Substitute defender Patrick Battiston was through on goal on the edge of the box but was clattered by Schumacher. He was left unconscious, fell into a coma and lost three teeth thanks to a foul in which the German made very little attempt to play the ball.
Despite the seriousness of the injuries, Dutch referee Charles Corver did not issue a red card—or even give a free-kick. Battiston was taken off the field and Schumacher proceeded to take a goal-kick.
A French newspaper subsequently polled its readers on the least popular man in France and Schumacher placed at No. 1—moving Adolf Hitler into second place.
Dirk Kuyt's Kung-Fu Tribute
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Mark Calttenburg had a bad day at the office when he officiated a Merseyside derby in October 2007.
The referee controversially sent off two Everton players, denied the Toffees an apparent penalty at the death and completely failed to punish Dirk Kuyt for an outrageous flying two-footed lunge.
Clattenburg was subsequently relieved of his Premier League duties the following week.
David Meyler's Old Trafford Stomp
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David Meyler already had a yellow card during Hull's visit to Manchester United in May, but he still decided to stamp on Adnan Januzaj's calf in the dying moments of the match.
Despite the deliberate lingering nature of the challenge, Meyler was given no punishment by the referee. In fact, the foul was given against Januzaj for his manhandling of his assailant.
Sascha Riether's Stamp of Approval
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Poor old Adnan Januzaj. The Manchester United starlet appears to be a common target for rival players to walk all over him—quite literally.
In November 2013, six months before Meyler's studs sunk into his leg, the Belgian winger received a nasty stamp from Fulham's Sascha Riether.
The officials were none the wiser to the incident, but the German was slapped with a violent conduct charge a few days later.
Luis Suarez's Italian Feast
5 of 10As a player with mercenary tendencies who happily admits to diving and cheating, there are no surprises when Luis Suarez does something reprehensible.
At the 2014 World Cup, the Uruguayan star appeared to take a bite out of Giorgio Chiellini's shoulder—the third time he had chomped another player in his career.
Mexican referee Marco Antonio Rodriguez and his team of officials completely missed the incident and issued no punishments, despite evidence of bite marks on the Italian defender's shoulder.
The incident was waved away, Uruguay subsequently won a corner and scored the only goal of the game, which eliminated the Azzurri from the competition.
Despite missing the incident, Rodriguez was asked to officiate Brazil's ill-fated semi-final with Germany.
Suarez, of course, subsequently received a four-month ban from all football but was still able to engineer a lucrative move to Barcelona.
Assou-Ekotto Headbutt and Moukandjo's Headbutt Madness
6 of 10Elsewhere at the World Cup, Alex Song earned a red card for his Tomahawk elbow to the back of Mario Mandzukic during Cameroon's 4-0 defeat to Croatia.
However, the Indomitable Lions probably should have had further punishment as a result of two of their own players headbutting each other.
Deep in injury time, Benoit Assou-Ekotto took out his frustration on Benjamin Moukandjo via a meeting of heads. Fortunately for the African side, whose campaign was wrought with issues, the officials missed it.
Biting Action in the Coppa Italia
7 of 10Luis Suarez isn't the only player to bite an opponent behind the referee's back this year.
In August, Milan striker Gianmario Comi—on loan at Avellino—appeared to bite Bari’s Giuseppe de Luca in a Coppa Italia third-round tie.
De Luca was sent off after reacting to the incident angrily, but Come received no punishment—and even scored five minutes later.
Comi even managed to evade further punishment as the video evidence on offer was not deemed to be sufficient.
Joey Barton's Pedersen Punch
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Joey Barton is no stranger to punishment for violent conduct, but he was very lucky to evade a red card for an incident during Newcastle's clash with Blackburn in November 2010.
While the referee was dealing with a separate incident, Barton appeared to have a disagreement with Morten Gamst Pedersen, which concluded when the Norwegian was given a swift punch in the chest.
Referee Mike Jones didn't spot the right-hander, but Barton was later issued with a violent conduct charge by the FA.
Ramires' Handy Work Against Sunderland
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Chelsea suffered an unexpected defeat to Sunderland in April, but the Blues were lucky to finish the game with 11 men.
Shortly before half-time, Ramires appeared to strike Sebastian Larsson in the face during an off-the-ball incident.
Referee Mike Riley was standing only a few yards away, but he did not see the assault.
The Brazilian midfielder eventually received his just desserts in the form of a four-match ban.
Diego Maradona's Hand of God
10 of 10Let's finish this list with one of the most famous moments of unpunished cheating in football history.
Six minutes into the second half of England's 1986 World Cup quarter-final with Argentina, Diego Maradona challenged goalkeeper Peter Shilton for an aerial ball.
The Argentinean famously knocked the ball into the net with his hand, putting the Albiceleste on the eventual road to victory.
Tunisian referee Ali Bin Nasser clearly saw nothing wrong with a goalkeeper being mysteriously beaten in the air by a player eight inches shorter than him, so this blatant disregard for fair play went unpunished and the goal stood.
The rest, as they say, is history.
