Rio Escapes Red

Rio Ferdinand will escape disciplinary action following his tantrum at the end of Manchester United’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea, despite gesturing and shouting angrily as he stormed into the tunnel.

The England defender, who had already been booked for dissent, appeared unhappy with the performance of referee Mike Riley as he left the pitch following a challenge with Didier Drogba.

However, Riley has not informed the FA of any “extraordinary events”, meaning that United’s automatic £25,000 fine for their seven bookings is likely to be the only official sanction to arise from a stormy match.

Sir Alex Ferguson, who marched on to the pitch to calm his players, was adamant that there were no bad tackles, while goal scorer Ji-Sung Park felt that United had been harshly treated by Riley.