Bruce hopes Brown will not be punished

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Television replays showed Brown raise his arm as Makelele came in from behind, resulting in the veteran midfielder falling to the ground and requiring treatment, and in protest the entire Chelsea bench jumped onto their feet and into the technical area.

Yet having seen the matter again, Bruce said: "There's no incident as far as I'm concerned, and I asked all of their bench 'did you see it?'. They've ran up and jumped out of their skins because Makelele is on the floor, yet not one of them saw the incident, like I didn't."

He added: "I don't mind if there's an incident to shout about, but I feel it is handbags. There's nothing in it at all, and it's a shame we are talking about it."

Grant maintains he was merely concerned for Makelele as last month he had an ear operation that kept him out for a few weeks.

"I'm not saying he was caught," insisted Grant. "I was protesting because I wanted the referee to stop the play because there might have been a head injury.

"I was concerned because I saw him go down, and he has recently had this operation."

It may still be reviewed by the FA's technical department as it was missed by both referee Uriah Rennie and his assistant.

In the end, it was FA Cup holders Chelsea who progressed into the last 16 following a 2-1 victory at the JJB Stadium.