FA hits Riether with retrospective charge for stamping Januzaj

Fulham defender Sascha Riether has been charged by the FA with violent conduct for a challenge on Manchester United's Adnan Januzaj which was not seen by the match officials after the incident was dealt with under a new scheme.

The German is the first player to be charged retrospectively by the FA under a pilot project for 'not seen' incidents after his apparent stamp late in United's 3-1 win at Craven Cottage in the Premier League on Saturday.

Under the new rules, a three-man panel of former elite referees, rather than the match referee, is asked to review such an incident and advise what, if any action, they believe the match referee should have taken if he had seen it.

"For an FA charge to follow, all three panel members must agree it is a sending-off offence," the FA said on its website (thefa.com) on Monday.

"In this instance, the panel was of the unanimous decision that it was an act of violent conduct."

Right back Riether, whose challenge has been widely criticised by players and pundits and was not seen by referee Lee Probert, has until 1800 GMT on Tuesday to respond to the charge.

Photograph: Julian Finney/Getty Images