Source: Telegraph
Chelsea's Alex in clear over Tim Cahill clash
Television pictures seemed to show Alex treading on the Everton midfielder, but referee Phil Dowd and the FA had the question of intent to consider before deciding whether to take action. [LNB]A charge for violent conduct carries a three-match ban and, with John Terry suspended from the matches against West Brom, Fulham and Southend following his sending-off, Chelsea would have been waiting anxiously on the verdict. [LNB]"If a referee misses a particular incident, we can ask him to look at video footage of it and ask what he would have done had he seen it," said an FA spokesman. [LNB]Terry was shown a straight red card by Dowd for a challenge on Leon Osman, while Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack and Ashley Cole were all booked as Chelsea failed to win away from home for the first time this season in the Premier League. [LNB]The loss of Alex as well as Terry would have been particularly untimely for manager Luiz Felipe Scolari, whose resources at centre-back have been stretched this season by a lingering hamstring injury to Ricardo Carvalho and the sale of Tal Ben Haim to Manchester City. [LNB]Scolari did not speak after the game, with Chelsea admitting that they had "issues" with a number of decisions. However, goalkeeper Petr Cech suggested that Chelsea would accept the Terry sending-off and not appeal. [LNB]"I think it is hard for the referee to see exactly what happened, and there was a lot of noise which makes it hard for the referee," he said. "But he made his decision and we have to live with that, it happens in football."[LNB]
