Stoke have reportedly confirmed they will appeal against the decision, but the FA have charged Charlie Adam with violent conduct for an incident during Stoke’s 1-0 win over Arsenal.
The incident happened in the second half of the match and TV cameras caught the Scottish midfielder stamping on Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud’s leg after the ball had been played. The incident was not caught by any of the officials but after the match the FA reviewed the incident and have decided to charge Adam.
An FA statement said: “The incident, which was not seen by the match officials but caught on video, occurred during the fixture between the two sides at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday 1 March 2014.
“Adam has until 6pm on Tuesday 4 March 2014 to respond to the charge.
“Under a new pilot project in Premier League matches this season, if an incident has not been seen by the match officials, a three-man panel of former elite referees will be asked by The FA to review it and advise what, if any action, they believe the match referee should have taken had it been witnessed at the time.
“For an FA charge to follow, all three panel members must agree it is a sending-off offence.
“In this instance, the panel were of the unanimous decision that it was an act of violent conduct.” Following this decision Stoke City have decided they will appeal “vigorously” against the decision.
By Phil Wellbrook
