A spokesman for the governing body indicated that the matter is closed following the referee’s report, which has led to no punishment for the defender

Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand will not face any Uefa action for sarcastically applauding referee Cuneyt Cakir after the club’s controversial Champions League exit to Real Madrid on Tuesday night.The Red Devils went ahead through a Sergio Ramos own goal but Nani was later sent off for a high tackle on Alvaro Arbeloa, a decision that seemed to shock most of the players on the pitch and has been criticised by many since.

Quick-fire goals from Luka Modric and Cristiano Ronaldo then saw the Spanish giants progress and Sir Alex Ferguson’s men crash out, much to the disgust of the Scot who was “too distraught” to attend his post-match press conference.

Ferdinand was also clearly angered by the decision as he sarcastically clapped right in the face of the referee at the full-time whistle, however Uefa have indicated that the player will not face punishment for his actions.

A spokesman told reporters: “From the report we have received from the referee we will not take any action apart from the disciplinary proceedings against Manchester United for the red card of Nani and for post-match media obligations not being fulfilled.”

Sir Alex refused to talk to the media after the clash and none of the club’s players were available for comment either, which goes against Uefa’s rules on post-match media obligations.

The rule states: “Both clubs must make their manager/head coach available for this press conference. All players of both teams are obliged to pass through the mixed zone in order to conduct interviews with the media. Players must fulfil interview requests from audiovisual rights holders before conducting interviews for their club media platforms.”

Uefa’s disciplinary body will continue to asses the red-card incident, though, to determine whether Nani’s challenge is worth of punishment beyond a one-match ban.