Ivan Toney looks set to escape FA punishment after red card incident during Peterborough's win over Sunderland

Ivan Toney looks set to escape punishment from the FA following the incident which saw Luke O’Nien dismissed during Sunderland’s defeat at Peterborough.

O’Nien was sent-off by referee Craig Hicks following the second half scuffle, but the ban was later overturned after footage showed the Black Cats’ full-back did not make contact with Toney’s face.

Ivan Toney looks set to escape punishment from the FAplaceholder image
Ivan Toney looks set to escape punishment from the FA | JPIMedia

That left some believing that the former Newcastle United striker would subsequently be charged by the FA for ‘successful deception of a match official’ - a ruling introduced in 2017 which can see players handed bans if their actions lead to an opponent being wrongly dismissed.

But the Echo understands that Peterborough United have yet to receive any correspondence from the FA in relation to the matter, and are not expecting Toney to be charged.

The striker could have received up to a four-game ban had any charges been raised.

However, it is understood that the FA did not feel the criteria to ban the striker had been met - with clear guidelines set out for such cases.

FA regulations state: “A charge will only be issued where there is clear and overwhelming evidence that the player intentionally deceived the match officials and not for debatable penalty decisions.

“If The FA believes there may be a case of successful deception of a match official, it will convene a three-person panel consisting of one ex-match official, one ex-player and one ex-manager and ask them to review the video footage independently of one another.

“Only in circumstances where the panel members are unanimous will the player be charged.”

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