Leeds defender facing violent conduct charge after off-the-ball incident
Leeds defender Liam Cooper has been charged with alleged violent conduct by the Football Association.
The charge relates to a second-half incident during Saturday's 1-0 Sky Bet Championship defeat at Reading.
TV footage appeared to show Cooper catch Reading substitute Reece Oxford on the side of the head as he lay on the floor.
Better quality footage of that Liam Cooper stamp on Reese Oxford from the weekend @EFL #readingfc #lufc https://t.co/JGksV521XV
— Alex Butler (@ATeeButler) April 3, 2017
An FA statement read: "The player was involved in an incident in or around the 74th minute which was not seen by the match officials at the time but caught on video.
"Furthermore, the FA has submitted a claim that the standard punishment that would otherwise apply for the misconduct committed by the Leeds defender is 'clearly insufficient'.
"He has until 6pm today (Tuesday, April 4) to reply to the charge."
Off-the-ball incidents which are not seen at the time by the match officials are referred to a panel of three former elite referees.
Each referee panel member reviews the video footage independently to determine whether they consider it a sending-off offence.
For retrospective action to be taken, and an FA charge to follow, the decision of the panel must be unanimous.
Leeds manager Garry Monk said of the incident after the game, "I've not seen it yet but I know Liam very well and he's 100 per cent not that type of lad.
"He's not in any way that type of player and, in my opinion, it would definitely be an accident or one that he didn't mean to do."
