The decision was made easier for the FA following the Police decision only to issue Carragher with a warning over the incident. This was all they could do as no complaints were made. Fair play to the Gooners who made that decision.

Many pundits have been saying that this should be the outcome, including our own Arsene Wenger.

One argument, voiced by Liverpool coach Phil Thompson, is that the incident was completely caused by the idiots in the crowd who threw coins at Carragher.

It's a bizarre suggestion. Of course the "fans" who started it should be held responsible for their actions. No one questions that, and we hope they are indetnified and punished. But why should Carragher not be held responsible for his actions?

It's as if this has never happened before, as if Carragher's reaction was an inevitable one. But whatever the media might be trying to tell you, coin-throwing is not a new phenomenon.

Was there such an outcry when Nigel Winterburn was hit by a coin thrown by Parma fans, or Gary Lewin by a hail of them when he tried to treat Nige? When Ian Wright, or Nutty again, were hit by coins thrown by Millwall fans? And, more's the point, would they have been defended like this if they had turned on the crowd?

I think not. And let's also not forget that violent retaliation on the pitch is definitely not considered reasonable.

Another bizarre argument is that further action against Carragher would encourage coin-throwing in provocation. This is also undermined by the fact that it's not a new thing. Everyone knows that Carragher's reaction was unusual. The argument also looks strange next to the calls for ground closures etc.

But the main point to make is the amazing contrast this makes with other bans they've dished out. 2 examples spring to mind...

Patrick Vieira: 6 matches for gobbing at Neil Ruddock.

Eric Cantona: loads of matches for his karate kick. Yes, what Carragher did wasn't as bad. But it wasn't so much less bad that it warrants no extra punishment. And if one is wanting to use the defence that it was all the fault of the person who started it, surely that argument works better in Cantona's defence than in Carragher's. After all, Cantona kicked the guy who was pissing him off. Whereas Carragher didn't see who was chucking stuff at him, and just threw the coin back at anyone.

Yes, as the FA say, Carragher doesn't have a bad disciplinary record. And yes he apologised quickly. But not even one extra match?

Players will presumably ditch practicing their ghoal celebrations, and spend the time working on their post-match apologies instead.