The Arsenal defender Martin Keown has been charged with improper conduct by the English Football Association following a clash with Ruud van Nistelrooy on December 7th.
Television cameras showed that Keown swung his arm at the Manchester United forward and, after the referee Dermot Gallagher missed the incident, the FA's video advisory panel decided there was a case to answer.
Keown becomes the fourth Arsenal player to be investigated by the FA this season following the captain Patrick Vieira, Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry. The FA are also waiting for a reply from the Gunners' left-back Ashley Cole, who was asked for his observations after being reported by the referee Paul Durkin for using abusive language at the end of a match at Southampton last month.
Keown said at the time that he did not believe the incident warranted further action. "Ruud was standing on my foot so I just pushed him away with my hand in an attempt to free myself," he said.
"It certainly wasn't malicious. My only intention was to get him off me. I have to say that I would be sorely disappointed if the FA take this matter further as I felt it was just a minor incident." Keown, who could be banned for three games if found guilty, has 14 days to respond.
Meanwhile, Steven Gerrard may yet face an FA charge following his two-footed lunge at Gary Naysmith on Sunday. Everton defender Naysmith cleared the ball down the touchline with three minutes remaining of the Merseyside derby - only to be caught by Gerrard. Referee Graham Poll decided to let play go on, but the FA's video panel could request a viewing of the incident once they have assessed the report - due yesterday - from the match official.
Fulham's long-term future is uncertain after the club admitted yesterday that they have scrapped their original plans to redevelop Craven Cottage.
There has been uncertainty about the club's intentions after revelations last month that they were considering a move to Osterley or a White City site near Loftus Road.
Fulham's plans to transform Craven Cottage into a 30,000-seater stadium have been beset by residential opposition and costs that have spiralled to more than £100 million.
"Any decisions we take will be in the interests of stability and the financial survival of the club and not built on irrational, emotional or impractical thinking which could adversely affect the success of the club," said the chairman Mohamed Al Fayed.
Whether this means Fulham will look elsewhere or draw up new plans to redevelop Craven Cottage remains to be seen but a club statement gave little away about possible alternative sites.
"We are currently pursuing a range of more sensible options," the statement said. "But there are a number of delicate and complicated issues involved in this process which must, of necessity, be conducted with the utmost discretion and under the most confidential of terms.
"The chairman hopes that all true Fulham fans will understand, remain patient, and continue to place their trust in him to do what is best in the long-term interests of the club and appreciate the sacrifices he has made to bring Fulham to the Premiership."
Leeds have confirmed that Nick Barmby will miss the next two months of the season after surgery on his damaged achilles tendon. The former England international hopes to return to Premiership action in mid-February. Barmby's setback comes less than a week after Michael Bridges ruptured his achilles and was told he would miss the rest of the season.
The Scottish Premier League chairman Lex Gold is hopeful that the 10 non-Old Firm clubs will withdraw their resignations from the league early in the new year. The latest round of peace talks took place at Hampden Park yesterday morning as all 12 clubs spent three hours trying to resolve their differences.
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