John Obi Mikel has been slapped with an immediate three-match ban and a fine of £60,000 for misconduct in the aftermath of Chelsea's 3-2 defeat to Manchester United in October.
The FA announced that the Nigerian would face a charge of 'using threatening and/or abusive and/or insulting words and/or behaviour' in the wake of referee Mark Clattenburg's acquittal.
The match official had been accused of calling Mikel a "monkey", but after an investigation, the FA did not believe that the 37-year-old had a case to answer.
A statement on the FA's website this afternoon read: "The breach of FA Rule E3 was in relation to an incident which occurred in the match official's changing room at the end of Chelsea's fixture against Manchester United on 28 October 2012.
"The Regulatory Commission's independent chairman Christopher Quinlan QC emphasised that the Independent Regulatory Commission accepted, as did The FA, that at the time he threatened the referee the player genuinely believed that the referee had racially abused him.
But for that factor the suspension would have been significantly longer."
Mikel, who admitted the charge, will now miss games against Sunderland, Leeds United and Aston Villa.
Michael Penkman
