Adam charged after Giroud clash
London (AFP) - Stoke midfielder Charlie Adam was charged with violent conduct by the Football Association on Monday after being caught stamping on Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud.
Adam, 28, appeared to stand on Giroud's left shin as the France star sat on the ground after passing the ball in the second half of Stoke's 1-0 victory against Arsenal at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday.
Giroud was left writhing in pain for several moments and he was seen to protest to referee Mike Jones.
Jones and his fellow officials did not notice the incident at the time, but the FA have now taken action against Scotland international Adam after television replays captured the clash.
An FA statement read: "Stoke City's Charlie Adam has today been charged by The FA for violent conduct, following an incident with Arsenal's Olivier Giroud.
"The incident, which was not seen by the match officials but caught on video, occurred during the fixture between the two sides at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday 1 March 2014.
"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."
Adam has until Tuesday evening to respond to the charge.
And Stoke reacted to the charge by revealing Adam plans to make an appeal.
"The club have learnt within the last hour that the FA has chosen to charge Charlie Adam," the Stoke statement read.
"Charlie and the club are surprised and disappointed to learn of this and will appeal vigorously against the decision."
