Stoke City's Glenn Whelan avoids FA punishment for tackle

Stoke City midfielder Glenn Whelan will escape punishment from the Football Association for his dangerous two-footed challenge on Manchester City's Javi Garcia over the weekend.

The 29-year-old appeared to stamp on the City midfielder while trying to win the ball during the Premier League champions' 1-0 win in the FA Cup fourth-round clash on Saturday.

Despite his actions, the English governing body are unable to take retrospective action as the incident in question did not occur 'off the ball', according to The Telegraph.

Match referee Howard Webb failed to spot the tackle during the clash.