Hope this is not true...

A good atricle with a slightly worrying passage about Sess stamping on someone. Especially with the derby looming, lets hope any punishment doesnt come to pass. Can't say I saw this incident myself.

Sunderland fans salute Arsenal's storybook goalscorer Thierry Henry• Henry scores last-minute winner in final Premier League game
• 'I've always found this a very special place to play football'

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.Premier League 2011-12
Sunderland 1 McClean 70
Arsenal 2 Ramsey 75, Henry 90+1
Louise Taylor at the Stadium of Light guardian.co.uk, Sunday 12 February 2012 22.59 GMT Article history About this articleClose Sunderland fans salute Arsenal's storybook goalscorer Thierry HenryThis article was published on guardian.co.uk at 22.59 GMT on Sunday 12 February 2012. A version appeared on p6 of the Sport section of the Guardian on Monday 13 February 2012. It was last modified at 00.05 GMT on Monday 13 February 2012.

Thierry Henry salutes the crowd at the Stadium of Light after scoring the winner for Arsenal against Sunderland. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA
Football can often seem a world inhabited by people who do little else but engage in vicious rows, fuel ancient feuds, earn enormous sums of money and, sometimes, neglect to shake hands.

Happily an antidote was delivered on Wearside. Widely accused, thoroughly erroneously, of forcing Steve Bruce out of the manager's office because he is a Geordie, not to mention being overly demanding, Sunderland fans have had a bad press lately.

On Saturday, though, not only Martin O'Neill but Thierry Henry and Arsène Wenger queued up to sing their praises after Henry signed off from a Premier League sabbatical by volleying Arsenal's 90th-minute winner.

The Frenchman, who returns to the New York Red Bulls immediately after Arsenal's Champions League tie in Milan on Wednesday, had begun on the bench but soon found himself the subject of generous serenades from home supporters when he warmed up and, later, replaced the well-shackled Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

"It was an amazing feeling," said Henry who connected with Andrey Arshavin's whipped-in, lobbed cross before finishing adroitly from close range. "It's always been a pleasure to come to Sunderland. I've always found this a very special place to play football and, when I was warming up, the fans near me started clapping.

"The atmosphere was fantastic and, with it being my last Premier League game, to score in the 90th minute was so special, something really magical. Andrey's cross was amazing, all I had to do was get a touch. It was so emotional."

Farewells are rarely more fitting but was it really the 34-year-old's last goodbye? "Sometimes you never know when something is going to end," said Henry. "I guess you can never say never. I never thought I was going to come back and play for Arsenal now. Who knows if I can say that this was definitely the end? We'll see."

O'Neill's instinct is that Wenger's star protege may return. "He doesn't have the same pace as before but he's still a very fine player," said Sunderland's manager, who must hope the Football Association does not elect to review footage of Stéphane Sessègnon's apparent, unpunished, stamp on Mikel Arteta. "You wouldn't be surprised if he comes back."

Henry's expert volleying technique certainly served as a sophisticated airbrush here, smoothing out the blemishes in a generally undistinguished away display in which Bacary Sagna and Alex Song proved Arsenal's best individuals and Wenger's initially bleak mood was exacerbated by the need to scrape technical area mud off his smartly polished shoes.

Having enjoyed a lucky first-half escape when the referee controversially declined to award Sunderland a penalty for Per Mertesacker's handball, Arsenal fell behind after the German defender's stumble allowed the irrepressible James McClean to sweep in a low, angled, left-foot shot.

In attempting to control the ball Arsenal's centre-half tore ankle ligaments but this latest cloud on Wenger's horizon came silver-lined. With virtually his first touch, Mertesacker's replacement, Aaron Ramsey, equalised.

Ceding Arsenal plenty of possession and playing on the break a tiring Sunderland looked poised for a point. Then, with time evaporating and McClean, Craig Gardner and John O'Shea vying for man of the match honours, Wenger withdrew the disappointing Theo Walcott and introduced Arshavin. Four minutes later the Russian centred and, dodging Michael Turner, the day's departing hero did the rest.

"I told the lads that Sunderland have played so well since Martin O'Neill arrived that we should be really happy with the win," said Henry. During his original Arsenal pomp the idea of being relieved at victory on Wearside would have been risible but Wenger's infinitely more fragile class of 2012 is engaged in a fight with Chelsea, Newcastle and Liverpool to simply finish fourth.

"We've gone through a bit of a crisis, losing a few games," acknowledged Arsenal's manager whose side return to the Stadium of Light for Saturday's FA Cup fifth-round tie. "Young players' confidence can drop quickly but Thierry helped keep us positive. He's been fantastic off the pitch and, on it, he's given us a big boost now. Let's hope we can continue like this without him."

Man of the match Craig Gardner (Sunderland)

 

The incident was on football first didn't look like a deliberate stamp but, he did stand on his ankle accidentally trying to jump over him while he was on the deck. Can't remember many complaints from Arsenal and he was on his feet straight away. Having said that it is the FA and hopefully they'll see it the way I did (and a mag I watched the game with did).

 

OK cheers mate. I didnt catch any of the review shows over the weekend and didnt notice it during the game.

 

He is far to little to hurt anyone, good to read some good press about footy fans, even better to read its us.

 

Anyone got any footage of teh stamp?? Can't find it anywhere

 

http://youtu.be/PkoyIDq1Fk4

Bets I could find mate.

 

Looks completely innocuous to me - hardly any contact at all and the ref gave it and was looking straight at it - if he has another look and decides that's a 3 match ban then Cabaye needs banning for another 10 games!! it was nothing at all

 

That's the way I saw it mate only Arteta was whinging and only about the original tackle not the stamp, like I said no Arsenal players around the incident complained. There was no mention of it by Wenger in the post match interview or from MON, storm in a tea cup.

 

Going by what was on that piece of footage, the ref has seen it and not taken any action. However we are talking about the FA and they are a law unto themselves.
None of the Arsenal players made much of it and even Wenger who is quick to complain has kept his own council.

 

Have to agree with this - although my only differing part to your argument is adding the fact that we are Sunderland and he is a very important player to us so the FA will probably decide to suddenly make an example of the challenge

 

It isn't true, load of bullshit!

 

That's the way I saw it too. I read on a message board somewhere about a 'disgraceful stamp' so was looking for it on Football First, but no one made anything of it and it looked an accident to me. Also I think if the ref saw it and dealt with it at the time then the FA can't overturn it anyway. It is only when the ref says he didn't see it (like Webb with Balotelli - even though pictures show he was looking right at it!!!) that the FA can apply a retrospective ban.

 

The ref was looking at the Cabaye incident but gave nothing as he didn't see it properly. If the ref had seen that, he would have been off. The free kick had already been given.

 

3 match ban just emailed the FA.

 

Hello chaps! Not been on here for a while.

Re the Sess "stamp", it seemed relatively innocuous and if I was on the FA panel I would disregard it. However, I am not, and the FA are notorious for being twats.

 

Toon fan. For me there's nothing in that. Let's hope the FA think differently . I can see why they would but I think he was jumping over Arteta and got it a bit wrong.

 

And should therefore pay the consequence

 

The FA has been tweeted quite alot so far about this.

 

Only a Skunk could see anything insidious in that incident...Nothing to answer for: end of..

 

This tells me you 2 boys are getting a bit worried