Spain ace David Villa could face retrospective punishment after lashing out an opponent in Monday’s win over Honduras.
Barcelona’s new striker scored twice and missed a penalty as the European champions got their first win of the World Cup, downing the Hondurans 2-0 in the Group H encounter at Johannesburg’s Ellis Park. However, cameras also caught him striking Honduas full back Emilio Izaguirre in the face ahead of a first half free-kick, an incident the former Valencia man was not punished for.
But he still could be as FIFA wait for referee Yuichi Nishimura’s report to see if he would have booked or red carded Villa had he seen the incident.
If so, Villa could find himself banned for the crucial game against Chile on Friday evening, a clash that Spain will, in all likelihood, have to win to avoid another early World Cup exit.
A FIFA spokesman said: "At the moment we have no information on David Villa. We will wait for the referee's report before making any decisions."
Villa himself told Spanish broadcaster Canal Plus: "It's not something that I am proud of. They're just instincts, in this case I wasn't expecting (Izaguirre) to tread on me.
"I was merely standing there and the reaction was to stick my arm out. I'll try in future to keep my cool."
Meanwhile, Brazil coach Dunga will not be punished after some questionable comments to journalists following the 3-1 Group G win over the Ivory Coast on Sunday night, in which Kaka was sent off.