The Football Association says it will take no action against Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard after he appeared to hit Portsmouth’s Michael Brown on Monday.
Television replays showed Gerrard aiming a blow at Brown’s head in the 73rd minute and he was substituted immediately afterwards.
Referee Stuart Attwell saw the incident at the time and spoke to Gerrard after awarding Portsmouth a free-kick.
FA rules do not allow retrospective action against a player if the official sees the alleged offence.
Liverpool led 3-0 when Gerrard was taken off but Benitez insisted the substitution was not because of the incident.
“We were thinking of changing Fernando Torres, Glen Johnson and Gerrard and we did it,” he said.