Mohamed Salah could face a three-match-ban

It comes as a shock for many a football fan that Mohammad Salah appeared to thrust his arm towards Stoke defender Bruno Martins Indi’s face during Liverpool’s clash against Stoke City on Saturday.

That incident took place after Indi attempted to take the ball from Salah, who retained possession of the ball and passed it to one his teammates. Salah then appeared to swing his fist at the defender’s head while both ran off to carry on with the game.

However, referee Andre Marriner didn’t notice the incident, and neither did Indi try to get the referee’s attention. But some fans took it to the social media, after which there were reports claiming that the Egyptian ace could face a three-match ban for the offence. So, he might miss Liverpool’s last two PL games of the season as well.

According to the FA rules, potential violent conduct incidents missed by the officials are referred to the panel of three former referees. The panel must unanimously agree it was a sending off offence in order to impose a ban on the footballer.

However, former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher doesn't think Salah will face any retrospective action.

“I would be astonished if that got processed for two reasons,” he told Sky Sports. “A) he has flicked out, I will admit that, but B) if you look at it again, the referee [Andre Marriner] is looking directly at it and he could not be better placed, it is uninterrupted.”

The match between Stoke City and Liverpool FC ended in a goalless draw as Salah failed to score for the first in eight games.

If Salah faces a ban, he’ll miss the opportunity to net another goal which will help him go past the likes of Alan Shearer, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Luis Suarez. In that case, Harry Kane, who is currently just five short of Salah’s tally of 31 goals, could also surpass him in Tottenham’s next four matches to win the race of the Premier League golden boot.