CHARLIE Austin has escaped being punished by The FA regarding the comments he made about referee Simon Hooper.

Austin had a goal ruled out during the 1-1 draw with Watford last Saturday after Hooper deemed Maya Yoshida deflected the ball past goalkeeper Ben Foster.

But replays immediately showed that Yoshida didn't interfere with play.

This caused Austin to go on a post-match rant, saying: "It's ridiculous.

"They shouldn't be in the game. They get a point. We scored a perfectly good goal to make it 2-0 and the game is done and dusted. We won the game, but the officials cost us two points today.

"They said it was offside. They said it hit Maya, but it didn't. I hit it twice. It hit me and bobbed up. That's why it has done Foster. It's a joke.

"You go on about VAR this and VAR that, help the officials out. Clearly, they need help. We play in the Premier League, the best league in the world, the most-watched league in the world."