Banned Souness fined £15,000 as Francis is charged

The Football Association yesterday sent out a clear message that its clampdown on misconduct within the game was addressed as much to managers as it was to players.

The Blackburn Rovers manager Graeme Souness was handed a three-match touchline ban and fined £15,000 after being sent off by referee Steve Bennett during Rovers' 2-2 draw with Liverpool in August.

The FA also warned the Southampton manager Gordon Strachan "as to his future conduct" after his dismissal, again by Bennett, during the Saints' 1-0 win over Everton last month.

Souness was sent off for protesting over a hefty aerial challenge from Emile Heskey on Nils-Eric Johansson, and said at the time: "My sending-off was probably the only thing the ref got right."

His ban will see the Scot sent to the stands for Blackburn's games against Walsall in the Worthington Cup, and Southampton and Everton in the Premiership, but it will not apply to the home leg against Celtic in the Uefa Cup second round on 14 November.

In a separate case, the Crystal Palace manager, Trevor Francis, was charged by the FA with violent or threatening behaviour, relating to an incident in August where he allegedly hit Alex Kolinko, one of his own goalkeepers, in the face during a game against Bradford City.

Francis has 14 days to respond to his charge. An FA statement said: "Following an incident during the match between Crystal Palace and Bradford City on Tuesday 13 August, we can confirm that Trevor Francis has been charged under rule E2 (violent or threatening behaviour)."

The Palace manager was dismissed from the dug-out after apparently striking Kolinko when the Latvian, sitting near to him, laughed at an error that cost his side a goal.

Francis said at the time that his own reaction was "a bit of fun", while his chairman, Simon Jordan, described the incident as "a storm in a teacup". The match referee, Paul Armstrong, mentioned the altercation in his match report, however, which led to yesterday's charge.

The League Managers' Association and the Professional Footballers' Association have both been involved in mediation talks between Francis and Kolinko. The FA decided not to act until that process – and any possible action by the police, which has not materialised – was complete. Kolinko, currently injured, has played in the first team since the incident, his dispute with manager apparently settled.

Francis will request a personal hearing at the FA, where he is likely to plead that his misdemeanour was uncharacteristic and without malice. The FA has the power to levy a touchline ban and a fine. A player facing a similar charge could expect a three-match playing ban.

The Manchester United midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron has severed professional ties with his agent, Gustavo Mascardi, who had represented him since he was a youngster. "Maybe the professional relationship was slightly damaged and as I have a good personal relation with him I don't want it to be mixed," said Veron. "I spoke to him, I told him how I felt and it finished there."

He is now set to turn to Fernando Hidalgo, a former employee of Mascardi. "My friend Fernando Hidalgo is giving me a helping hand," Veron continued. "I think he will represent me in what is left of my career, which I hope is long, although at 27 one sees football in a different way."