He's not United standard, I hope we don't see his elbows again

I hated playing against Fellaini, he is awkward and a menace in midfield

The Leicester defender could have been left with a broken cheek or jaw

It can't be right that Fellaini will be available for the FA Cup final this month

How did they get the same bans? One man deliberately swings an elbow, knowing full well the damage that can be caused. The other grabs a clump of hair. Both, somehow, end up with three-match suspensions.

The more I look at the punishments that Marouane Fellaini and Robert Huth received, the less I can understand the Football Association's decision. Huth, a giant in Leicester's fairytale campaign, misses his side's big celebration for an incident you associate with a school playground.

Yet Fellaini could end up playing in the FA Cup final. Can pulling someone's hair cause the same damage as a flailing elbow? No. Not in a million years.

Manchester United's Marouane Fellaini and Leicester City's Robert Huth have been handed three-game bans

Fellaini elbowed the Leicester defender, and it is not the first time he has been involved in controversy

Huth was pulling Fellaini's hair but that action cannot be compared to the danger posed by Fellaini's elbow

Fellaini will now miss the remainder of the Premier League season but he could play in the FA Cup final

It can't be right that he will be available for Manchester United's big day against Crystal Palace on May 21. My personal hope is that we would never see him playing in the Premier League again.

Three games is not a sentence that will prove a deterrent to Fellaini. He is a repeat offender and it has gone beyond the point now where people can attempt to defend him by saying he is a tall lad who is using his arms for leverage.

Look at the incident with Huth again: Fellaini takes a glance around and sees where Huth is before swinging. Yes, he may have been provoked but the Belgium international knew what he was doing. Had he connected firmly, the Leicester defender could have been left with a broken cheek or jaw.

Gary Mabbutt, the former Tottenham captain, would testify to that. Back in November 1993, he was left with a fractured skull and needed a plate inserted into his face to hold his eye socket together after John Fashanu smashed his elbow into him during a game against Wimbledon.

Yet should we be surprised it was Fellaini again? No. He argued back in March that he 'doesn't want to elbow someone and only defend myself' but that simply doesn't hold any credibility because he has been involved in too many incidents.

What happened when United faced Liverpool in the Europa League? He escaped retrospective punishment for elbowing Emre Can at Anfield in the first leg on March 10 but then seven days later at Old Trafford, he did exactly the same thing only this time Dejan Lovren was on the receiving end.

Gary Mabbutt was left with a fractured skull after a shocking collision with John Fashanu in 1993

Fellaini smashed his forearm into the face of Manchester City's Pablo Zabaleta back in March 2014

Fellaini escaped without punishment following this elbow on Joe Allen of Wales on international duty

When he first arrived in the Premier League, as Everton's record £15million signing in 2008, he was booked five times in his first two months. The assumption, initially, was to put it down to exuberance, awkwardness and immaturity. But here we are, eight years on, and he hasn't changed.

The figures are damning. He has been booked 61 times in all competitions since coming to England and picked up a further three red cards. He has served 18 matches in bans, including three for a headbutt on Stoke's Ryan Shawcross when he was at Everton that enraged David Moyes.

I hated playing against Fellaini. You knew from the word go you had to keep your wits because of his aggression. In one Merseyside derby, TV cameras showed me telling the referee to 'watch Fellaini's elbows' — he always featured in our team talks because he was so awkward.

Jamie Carragher and Fellaini compete for a high ball during a Merseyside derby at Anfield in May 2013

Television cameras caught Fellaini swinging at Emre Can during United's Europa League game with Liverpool

Fellaini connects with Ron Vlaar's neck during a Premier League match at Old Trafford in 2014

He is a menace in the worst possible sense. I don't use that term lightly but he is not a Manchester United player in any shape or form.

I was never convinced he would fit in at Old Trafford when he left Goodison Park and have never been given reason to change my mind. Yes, he's a good player with some qualities but he is absolutely not United standard.

Over the years, there have always been players who have crossed the line. Luis Suarez had a habit of doing it; Eric Cantona did and so too did Patrick Vieira. They were all involved in moments that were unacceptable.

Former Liverpool striker Luis Suarez had a habit of crossing the line with some disciplinary issues

Every player will have a few moments that disappoint them when they look back. The biggest one of mine was a challenge on Nani at Anfield during a game against Manchester United in March 2011.

Still to this day I do not know how I never got sent off. I apologised immediately and did so again afterwards but it couldn't make up for what I had done.

I was on the end of a similar tackle from Lucas Neill that broke my leg and the older you become the stronger your feelings are not to see a fellow professional get hurt.

I do not know how I never got sent off for this tackle on Nani but I did apologise immediately and afterwards

Kevin Muscat, the former Wolves player, had a reputation for doing just that and Fellaini is in danger of slipping into the same realms. For him to still be guilty of the same kind of incidents shows how big the issue has become and it was significant to see Louis van Gaal raise the issue of him having to control his temper.

He isn't learning and he is now getting the kind of reputation where players will be worried on a weekly basis about getting hurt when they come up against him.

For the next three games, that threat will be removed. But afterwards? Who knows? I can't believe that he still has a chance to end his season at Wembley when the reality is he should be banned for longer.

Personally I hope we don’t see his elbows in England again.

MAN OF THE WEEK: JAN OBLAK

Atletico Madrid have had a fine tradition in recent years for producing top-class goalkeepers.

I remember playing in a Europa League semi-final against Atletico six years ago when a young David de Gea was forging his reputation and showing why, 12 months later, Sir Alex Ferguson had to sign him for Manchester United.

Thibaut Courtois had three excellent seasons at the Vicente Calderon and played a significant role in helping Diego Simeone's side win La Liga in 2013-14 but the man who has taken over the gloves might take them to the greatest prize in club football.

Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak was superb against Bayern Munich, capping it all with a penalty save

Oblak, the Slovenia international, was outstanding against Bayern Munich on Tuesday in a pulsating semi-final, the highlight of his performance being the penalty save that thwarted Thomas Muller when the score was 1-0 to Bayern.

He has kept the most clean sheets of any goalkeeper in the top five European leagues this season (23), has the best save percentage and, for good measure, his average of conceding a goal every 202 minutes is also the best.

Still only 23, Oblak has a huge future ahead of him. Should he maintain his form for the rest of the month, Atletico could end the season as double winners.

David de Gea is a prime example of Atletico's fine tradition in recent years for producing top-class keepers

Dimitri Payet gets best goal but Riyad Mahrez is my No 1

It's the time of year when we recognise the great and good we have seen since last August and, with one week of the campaign remaining, I wanted to use this column to hand out my own awards.

I've also selected my team for the season.

BEST GAME

It has to be LEICESTER 2 CHELSEA 1 last December. This was the night the future champions made a statement of intent, with Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez on fire, and the reigning champions finally imploded to signal the end of the Jose Mourinho era.

Leicester City beat Chelsea at the King Power Stadium in December as the reigning champions imploded

BEST SIGNING

In normal years, Dimitri Payet would have had this accolade for inspiring West Ham's best campaign since 1986 but he misses out because of N'GOLO KANTE.

It has to be the little French terrier who arrived unheralded from Caen for £5million but is now a title winner.

N'Golo Kante has been a fantastic signing from Caen for £5million to boost the champions' midfield

GOAL OF THE SEASON

West Ham don't miss out here. PAYET'S extraordinary free-kick against Crystal Palace at Upton Park wins this section.

I can't believe how high he got the ball and how much dip he put on it. He edges out Dele Alli's wonder strike, which was also against Palace.

Dimitri Payet scored a fantastic free-kick for West Ham against Crystal Palace at Upton Park

SAVE OF THE SEASON

There are many reasons DAVID DE GEA won Manchester United's Player of the Year award but none is more compelling than his stop to keep out a Jose Fonte header at Southampton last September. Somehow he clawed a ball from behind him that looked to be in.

David de Gea kept out Jose Fonte's header at Southampton, clawing out the ball when it looked to be in

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

Only one contender in this category. CHELSEA. I was convinced that last year's title triumph would herald an era of domination at Stamford Bridge and I tipped them with confidence to retain the Premier League. They were out of the race as soon as it started.

Deposed champions Chelsea looked set for an era of dominance at Stamford Bridge but it all fell apart

TEAM OF THE YEAR

David de Gea (Manchester United); Nathaniel Clyne (Liverpool), Wes Morgan (Leicester), Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham), Danny Rose (Tottenham); Dimitri Payet (West Ham), Dele Alli (Tottenham), N'Golo Kante (Leicester), Riyad Mahrez (Leicester); Harry Kane (Tottenham), Jamie Vardy (Leicester).

Harry Kane scored the goals that made Tottenham title challengers and he makes the team of the year

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

I'll give you my one-two-three. For the goals he has scored away from home and the threat he has provided throughout the season, it has to be MAHREZ. He beats KANE, a striker who is going from strength to strength for Tottenham and England. Third place goes to KANTE.