Rio Ferdinand charged with violent conduct

Rio Ferdinand has been charged with violent conduct by the FA for an incident involving Craig Fagan during Manchester United’s 4-0 win over Hull City on Saturday.

Video replays of the incident appear to show Ferdinand making contact with Fagan with a swinging arm inside Manchester United’s penalty area as Hull prepared to take a free kick.

The Manchester United defender, who has just come back from a lengthy spell on the sidelines, has until Wednesday evening to respond to the charge.

The 31-year-old has the option to appeal the charge or accept an automatic three-game ban which would see the centre half miss United’s trip to Arsenal on Sunday.

Should Ferdinand choose to appeal the charge, he will still be available for United’s crunch Carling Cup semi-final clash with local rivals Manchester City on Wednesday night.

Arsenal, who face Manchester United at Emirates Stadium on Sunday, have been boosted by the news that Alex Song may be fit for the weekend’s clash after his native Cameroon crashed out of the Africa Cup of Nations, losing 3-1 to Egypt after extra time.

United go into Wednesday’s Carling Cup clash with City at Old Trafford trailing 2-1 after Carlos Tevez scored twice in last week’s encounter to inflict misery on his former employers.