Desailly not charged

By Matthew Jones
September 24 2002

The Football Association has confirmed that no further action will be taken against Chelsea's captain Marcel Desailly after his alleged slap on Newcastle's Craig Bellamy.

The Football Association has confirmed that no further action will be taken against Chelsea's captain Marcel Desailly after his alleged slap on Newcastle's Craig Bellamy.

The Magpies hitman blasted linesman Dave Babski for failing to alert referee Barry Knight to the off-the-ball incident which occurred during Chelsea's 3-0 success at Stamford Bridge 10 days ago. No action was taken during the match.

However, following an investigation into Bellamy's allegation, the FA revealed in a statement: "We can confirm that no action will be taken against Marcel Desailly following an alleged incident involving Craig Bellamy in the Chelsea v Newcastle match at Stamford Bridge on Saturday 14 September.

The FA Stated: "The investigation is now completed and the matter closed."

A fuming Bellamy said at the time: "Let's just say I was disappointed with the incident. I would like something to be done about what happened but there is nothing I can do. I was mainly annoyed with the linesman. It happened right in front of him and he has to be brave and put his flag up, but he wasn't. He has turned a blind eye and that is the most irritating thing for me. We will just have to wait and see what happens, but it wasn't pleasant."