Steven Gerrard faces an anxious wait as the Football Association decides whether to take retrospective action against the Liverpool midfielder for apparently striking Michael Brown.
Gerrard appeared to lash out at the Portsmouth midfielder during Liverpool's 4-1 win over the Premier League strugglers at Anfield last night and could face a three-match ban.
The two players were running towards the Portsmouth penalty area but as Brown tried to hold off the England international, Gerrard seemed to hit his opponent with his forearm.
The referee Stuart Attwell was only a few yards from the incident but took no action against the Liverpool captain. The FA is now expected to consult Attwell, with a three-match ban a potential punishment if Gerrard is deemed guilty.
If Gerrard is banned he would miss Sunday's crucial match at Manchester United, the home game against Sunderland a week later and the visit to Birmingham on 3 April.
Only a week ago, Gerrard found himself in a similar situation for an alleged V-sign made at the referee Andre Marriner in the defeat at Wigan.
That went no further as the official said he had seen the incident at the time and decided it did not warrant any action, but Attwell will almost certainly be asked to look at this incident again by the FA.
However, the Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez is confident his captain will escape further punishment.
"I don't think so," said the Spaniard when asked if he was worried about retrospective action against his captain. "I haven't seen it but I was asking and I think it was nothing."
Benítez also played down his immediate substitution of Gerrard, adding: "We were thinking of changing [Fernando] Torres, Glen Johnson and Gerrard and we did it."
Portsmouth's manager Avram Grant said he also did not see the incident but felt Attwell should have spotted it.
"I didn't see it. I will speak with Michael Brown and then I will tell you," he said. "They told me the referee was four metres away from this so I think the referee needs to see from four metres what I didn't from 40 metres. Personally, I like Steven Gerrard. I think he is a good player and a fair player."
