Alan Pardew charged with improper conduct

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew has been charged with improper conduct by the FA.

The charges relate to comments made prior to the Magpies' 1-0 win over North East rivals Sunderland on August 20 regarding how referee Howard Webb would treat Joey Barton.

The Newcastle boss said: "In a gameplan, Joey would get a mention so the ref needs to make sure he referees from a completely neutral point of view."

The FA introduced new rules this year preventing managers from speaking about match officials before a fixture.

Tony Pulis praised Howard Webb ahead of Stoke's FA Cup semi-final against Bolton last season, but was warned about his future conduct.

Pardew has until 4pm on Monday to respond.