FIFA will not take action against the Colombian player who injured Neymar, who will be sidelined for about 45 days after sustaining a fractured third vertebra, and ended the Brazil star's World Cup, according to Reuters.
FIFA said its disciplinary panel "cannot consider this matter" under the rules because the match referee saw the challenge by Camilo Zuniga and judged it at the time, Reuters reported. "In this specific case, no retrospective action can be taken," FIFA said in a statement on Monday, because the incident "did not escape the match officials' attention."
In a separate decision, the panel also refused to consider a Confederation of Brazilian Football appeal against captain Thiago Silva's yellow card in the 2-1 win quarterfinals over Colombia on Friday in Fortaleza, according to Reuters.
Thiago Silva's second caution of the tournament triggered a one-match ban which he will serve in the semifinals, Reuters reported. Brazil will therefore be without its best player and its captain against Germany on Tuesday in Belo Horizonte.
The panel studied video of Zuniga's 86th-minute challenge, where he kneed Neymar in the back when jumping into him at speed. Zuniga apologized on Saturday, according to Reuters. Spanish referee Carlos Velasco Carballo did not show Zuniga a yellow card, and FIFA's disciplinary panel considered the incident judged on the spot.
The seriousness of an injury could not be weighed in a disciplinary decision, nor was mistaken identity a factor in the case, FIFA added, Reuters reported.
"First and foremost, the chairman of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee (Claudio Sulser) wishes to state that he deeply regrets the incident and the serious consequences on Neymar's health," the statement said, according to Reuters.
The Luis Suarez biting case earlier in the World Cup raised expectations that Sulser's panel would also punish Zuniga, but Suarez's bite of Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini's shoulder was missed by match officials, Reuters reported.
