Darren Gough was stunned that the FA decided not to punish Aston Villa midfielder Conor Hourihane after his actions in the 1-1 draw with Leeds United.
The retired cricketer simply said wow as co-host Adrian Durham read to him the FA’s verdict regarding the scenes during the Villans’ clash with Leeds and it had no mention of the midfielder, showing he hadn’t been punished for colliding with Mateusz Klich.
“Wow, what was it then just a tickle?” said Gough on talkSPORT (16:50, Tuesday April 30th).
Hourihane appeared to punch Leeds midfielder Klich but Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Phil Hay shared on Twitter that the midfielder would not being charged as a panel of three former referees believe it wasn’t violent conduct.
As with Canos in October, the Hourihane incident was "not seen" so went before a panel of three former referees. They ruled that it didn't equate to violent conduct. Therefore, no further action. #lufc
— Phil Hay (@PhilHay_) April 30, 2019
“As with Canos in October, the Hourihane incident was “not seen” so went before a panel of three former referees. They ruled that it didn’t equate to violent conduct. Therefore, no further action,” wrote Hay.
OPINION
No wonder Gough is stunned, how has Hourihane not been banned? The midfielder looked to punch Klich and surely that should be deemed violent conduct. If that’s not violent conduct, what is? While the Villans are no doubt breathing a sight of relief over the 28-year-old avoiding any charges, it does feel like justice hasn’t been served. However with the decision made, there’s not much anyone can do. The FA have investigated the incident and if for some reason they believes it’s not enough to hand Hourihane a ban, others are just going to have to accept it. It’ll be interesting to see the reaction if Hourihane plays a major part in the play-offs as can you imagine the complaints if he scores the winning goal in the play-off final? There would be uproar and everyone would likely bring up the fact that he probably should have missed the game, as given how unsavoury the sight of him hitting another player was, banning him for the whole play-offs wouldn’t have looked out of place.