Salah escapes diving ban

Mohamed Salah will not face retrospective action from the FA after winning a penalty during Liverpool’s 4-0 win over Newcastle at Anfield on Boxing Day.

Liverpool were 1-0 up in the game thanks to Dejan Lovren’s volley but were struggling to break down Newcastle before Salah went down in the box under minimal contact from Paul Dummett.

With James Milner not on the pitch, Salah got up to take the penalty himself and calmly converted beyond Martin Dubravka to put Liverpool in a comfortable 2-0 lead.

Rafa Benitez was unhappy with the decision, saying at full-time: “The soft penalty in the game made the difference, we were in the game 1-0 at half-time, but when we conceded the second goal it was more difficult for us to react against a very good team.

“The second goal was crucial, it gave them more confidence and was more difficult for us, you have to take more risks, be more open then you make more mistakes and pay for that.”

However, Salah will not face a ban for simulation after the FA deemed that it did not meet their threshold for deception of the match official.

It means that Salah, who has scored five goals and provided two assists in his previous four Premier League matches, will be available for selection in Liverpool’s upcoming fixtures against Arsenal and Manchester City.