THE FA CHARGE CRAIG BELLAMY

Cardiff City Football Club can confirm that Craig Bellamy has been charged by The FA for violent conduct in relation to an incident at the Swansea City away fixture on Saturday 8 February.

A three man panel of former elite referees reviewed video footage on Monday 10 February before informing the club of the decision.

At this time the club are reviewing the matter ahead of the 6pm Tuesday 11 February deadline before making any further comment.

The FA statement reads: Cardiff City’s Craig Bellamy has been charged by The FA for violent conduct following an incident which was not seen by the match officials but caught on video.

The incident occurred during Cardiff’s game against Swansea City on Saturday 8 February 2014. Bellamy has until 6pm on Tuesday 11 February 2014 to respond to the charge.

Under a new pilot project in Premier League matches this season, if an incident has not been seen by the match officials, a three-man panel of former elite referees will be asked by The FA to review it and advise what, if any action, they believe the match referee should have taken had it been witnessed at the time.

For an FA charge to follow, all three panel members must agree it is a sending-off offence. In this instance, the panel were of the unanimous decision that it was an act of violent conduct.

ENDS