20 Mar 2008The FA: 'We can't re-referee games'

The FA is unable to take Ashley Cole to task following his tackle on Alan Hutton as referee Mike Riley has already taken action against him, it has been revealed.

A spokesperson for English football's governing body told the BBC: "The referee saw the incident and dealt with it. We cannot re-referee matches.

"The player was shown a yellow card at the time and the decision is not then looked at retrospectively."

During Chelsea's thrilling 4-4 draw with Tottenham at White Hart Lane on Wednesday evening, Cole's tackle on Hutton appeared to be both late and high but he got away with a yellow - even though many thought red would have been the more appropriate colour.

Although Spurs boss Juande Ramos judged the foul to be "serious", the view from the Chelsea dugout was apparently restricted as manager Avram Grant claimed not to have seen the incident.

Instead, he chose to criticise the Tottenham players and coaches for "jumping in" and failing to treat the referee with respect.

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