The referee praised for sparing Mark Viduka a red card after an incident in a pre-season friendly is to be punished by the FA for being too lenient on the Leeds United striker.
The Australian international fouled York City defender Andrew Jordan then threw the ball at him as he lay on the ground during the clubs' 1-1 friendly draw last week.
Instead of sending Viduka off - a decision which would have earned him a three-match ban - Football League referee Alan Kaye asked Leeds manager Peter Reid to substitute him.
The incident was shown on Sky Sports TV and the FA responded today by charging Kaye with "less than proficiently applying the laws of the game."
Reid, who also replaced defender Michael Duberry in similar circumstances during the match, praised Kaye for his actions at the time.
"The main thing was that the referee was sensible because we could have been in trouble on one or two occasions," he said. "I thought the referee was great. He made two mistakes but my players made a lot more than him."
Media reports this week have suggested that Viduka is keen to leave Leeds.