Theo Walcott will not be punished for his dive against Leeds United, the Football Association has confirmed.The Arsenal winger admitted trying to win a penalty towards the end of Saturday's FA Cup third-round tie but has escaped sanction from England's governing body.
The 20-year-old was involved in two spot-kick incidents in the final minutes at the Emirates Stadium, the second of which – a legitimate claim – was awarded by referee Phil Dowd.
Dowd initially granted Walcott's first appeal, after a challenge on the England international by United defender Alex Bruce, but reversed his decision due on spotting an offside flag raised.
Walcott admitted to having dived in the first instance and apologised to Gunners boss Arsene Wenger and his Leeds United counterpart Simon Grayson. He was not booked by Dowd and his admission left him open to disciplinary proceedings.
But an FA spokesman said: "We will not be taking any action."
The governing body is understood to have ruled that Walcott's post-match interview did not constitute a breach of FA regulations, and it was unable to take retrospective measures over Walcott's dive since the incident would not have been deemed a red card offence and was witnessed by Dowd.
Arsenal travel to Ipswich for the first leg of a Carling Cup semi-final tonight and face a Premier League clash with West Ham this weekend ahead of next Wednesday's replay at Elland Road.
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