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<P class=big>Manchester City have suspended defender Ben Thatcher following his challenge on Pedro Mendes.
The City full back has been condemned from all corners of the game following his clash with Mendes, which left the Portsmouth midfielder unconscious.
Thatcher was initially booked for the incident, so it was presumed the Football Association would not be able to take action - one reason why City have taken it upon themselves to suspend him, meaning he will miss this weekend's clash with Arsenal.
City have stated that Thatcher is suspended from all first-team action until their own internal investigation is completed.
The FA, though, have also announced that Thatcher will indeed face a charge of serious foul play.
In a statement, The FA revealed they considered the incident serious enough to warrant a separate charge.
"The incident is being considered as an exceptional case because The FA contends that the challenge was sufficiently serious that had Thatcher been sent off, an additional sanction would have been merited," said an FA statement.
Thatcher has until September 12 to respond to the FA charge.
The City full back has been condemned from all corners of the game following his clash with Mendes, which left the Portsmouth midfielder unconscious.
Thatcher was initially booked for the incident, so it was presumed the Football Association would not be able to take action - one reason why City have taken it upon themselves to suspend him, meaning he will miss this weekend's clash with Arsenal.
City have stated that Thatcher is suspended from all first-team action until their own internal investigation is completed.
The FA, though, have also announced that Thatcher will indeed face a charge of serious foul play.
In a statement, The FA revealed they considered the incident serious enough to warrant a separate charge.
"The incident is being considered as an exceptional case because The FA contends that the challenge was sufficiently serious that had Thatcher been sent off, an additional sanction would have been merited," said an FA statement.
Thatcher has until September 12 to respond to the FA charge.
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