Wilshere escapes FA action
Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere will not face any disciplinary action from the Football Association over his Twitter comments criticising referee Phil Dowd after Saturday's 4-4 draw at Newcastle.
Wilshere, who has joined up with the England squad ahead of the friendly in Denmark, used his Twitter page to hit out at Dowd's handling of the Premier League clash, where Arsenal had raced into a 4-0 lead before having Abou Diaby sent off which proved to be the catalyst for Newcastle's amazing comeback.
Dowd sent off Diaby in the 48th minute after he reacted to a challenge by Joey Barton by shoving the Newcastle player to the ground.
Wilshere felt a later incident involving Kevin Nolan and Wojciech Szczesny, in the immediate aftermath of the first of Barton's two penalties, was just as serious and should have seen the Newcastle midfielder receive the same punishment as Diaby.
"Inconsistent refereeing needs to stop. It's killing the game. If Diaby goes, what's the difference between that and Nolan on our keeper?" Wilshere had posted on Twitter, although he subsequently deleted the post.
However, while the FA did consider the matter, the governing body will not be taking things further.
Theo Walcott, speaking at an England press conference on Monday, said: "You have to be careful what you do in your personal life, but everybody's entitled to their own opinion.
"I believe there's no point whingeing about referees after games - it's not going to change the result. You are only going to start digging holes for yourself but, again, everyone's entitled to their opinion.
Walcott added: "I don't tweet myself. I really don't have a clue what it's all about."
Former Liverpool striker Ryan Babel was fined £10,000 by the FA last month when he posted a doctored photo of referee Howard Webb in a Manchester United shirt, following a 1-0 defeat for Kenny Dalglish's team at Old Trafford.
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