Souness faces improper conduct charge
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Your support makes all the difference.Graeme Souness is facing his third ban in nine months after being charged with improper conduct by the Football Association yesterday.
The day after his side ground out a dogged 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Worthington Cup semi-final against Manchester United, the Blackburn Rovers manager was charged with "improper conduct and abusive and/or insulting language" to match officials relating to Rovers' previous match in the competition last month.
As Blackburn beat Wigan 2-0, he was sent from the dug-out for the third time in 2002 after an altercation with the fourth official, Matt Messias.
He insisted he had merely questioned the linesman's judgement after Wigan were awarded a corner. He confronted Messias on the touchline, appearing to poke him in the chest before Messias made the referee, Andy D'Urso, aware of the incident.
In the press conference afterwards, Souness would only say: "I came out to ask the linesman if he got it right when Brad [Friedel] came out and caught the ball. I don't want to talk about it and it is not important."
Souness was previously banned for three games by the FA in November and fined £15,000 for abusing Steve Bennett, the referee during the home draw with Liverpool. He was also banned for one match and fined £10,000 in April for abusing Graham Barber during Rovers' 1-0 FA Cup fifth-round defeat by Middlesbrough in February.
The FA has no specific suspensions for banished managers, but it is sure to take into account his record, including a four-match ban when he managed Liverpool. He has 14 days to respond.
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