Stoke City chairman Peter Coates has been charged with misconduct by the Football Association over comments that he made regarding referees, which allegedly implied bias.
The 76-year-old is also accused of bringing the game into disrepute, but an FA-issued statement released on Thursday did not identify the specific incident for which he is being charged.
Coates appeared to back manager Mark Hughes's criticism of referee Chris Foy earlier this month after he failed to punish West Ham United's Alex Song for an apparent two-footed challenge on Mame Biram Diouf, and also seemingly alleged that defender Ryan Shawcross was receiving unfair treatment from officials.
The Potters chairman is quoted by Goal.com as saying at the time: "There does seem to be a bias towards other teams.
"You always feel that because we have a good crowd that gets behind the team, referees seem to think 'I will show them who's in charge here'. Perhaps it's a macho thing."
Coates has until November 24 to appeal the charges.
Giuseppe Labellarte
