DTotD: Rio Ferdinand abuses hapless Fernando Torres for no reason

Aside from the FA Cup, Champions League, Euro 2012 and Golden Boot he won plus the millions of pounds he makes, poor Fernando Torres just can't catch a break. He's still struggling to score goals, betting firms are publicly goading him with billboards next to Stamford Bridge, his old buddy Rafa Benitez arrives at Chelsea and instantly becomes public enemy No. 1 and now he can't even make a cameo appearance in a comeback against Manchester United without getting abused off the ball by Rio Ferdinand for no discernable reason.

After Chelsea had already scored two second-half goals to pull even against Man United in their FA Cup fifth round match at 2-2, Torres was brought on for Demba Ba in the 77th minute to ease the home side's fears of surrendering a third goal. In the 85th minute, Rio Ferdinand -- fresh off sarcastically applauding in the referee's face following Man United's midweek Champions League loss to Real Madrid -- tripped and shoved him from behind even though he didn't have the ball. Ferdinand then immediately dragged the confused Spaniard to his feet in the hopes that nearby referee Howard Webb wouldn't see him on the ground.

Given how sad and gentle Torres is these days, this amounts to a clear case of bullying from Ferdinand. It's like kicking a puppy that never barks and only bites second division teams.

This has been the Dirty Tackle of the Day: a chronicling of unfortunate events.