Manchester City midfielder Joey Barton has been charged with improper conduct by the English Football Association for dropping his shorts in front of Everton supporters.
The charge follows an incident when Barton pulled down his shorts after being verbally abused by home fans at Goodison Park on Saturday.
Barton has until 6pm tomorrow to respond, and an FA disciplinary commission will hear the case on Tuesday.
City boss Stuart Pearce believes the matter should just have been laughed of, and hinted tha the player had come under severe provocation from the Everton supporters.
He said earlier this week: “Maybe some of the things that were said to that player are a more serious matter, but we are not going to rake that up.
“I saw one of my players give his shirt to a disabled fan. As he’s walking off the pitch, he’s being sledged about things I’d prefer not to go into.
“He kept a smile on his face throughout the whole incident and he’s done something that, at worst, is a little bit childish.
“At best, it’s a bit of comedy that everyone should laugh off – but I still have to deal with it several days later.”
