Kinnear and Brown charged over fracas

(GETTY IMAGES)

Newcastle manager Joe Kinnear and Hull counterpart Phil Brown have been charged with improper conduct by the Football Association following their touchline confrontation during last week's FA Cup third-round replay at St James' Park.

The pair squared up to each other following Magpies defender Fabricio Coloccini's 22nd-minute tackle on Hull forward Daniel Cousin, and have been given until 3 February to respond to the charge.

Kinnear, commenting on the incident after the game on 14 January, said: "He [Brown] came across. He was having a rant, more than anything.

"He didn't actually say anything to me, he was having a rant at [Kinnear's number two] Chris [Hughton] - and he wasn't saying too many pleasant things to him. It was as simple as that.

"I just said 'enough'. That's all I said. I don't know what the trouble was with the ref (Phil Dowd).

"I just said 'cool it and call it a day'. I sent Chris to sit down and as he [Brown] came across and the referee came running over.

"I don't know whether my reputation precedes me, but if you look at the video, what I did do was stand my ground, I didn't do anything else."

Newcastle lost the replay 1-0, with Cousin scoring the only goal for the Tigers nine minutes from time.

Kinnear has previously fallen foul of the FA disciplinary committee since returning to management with Newcastle in late September last year.

He had to serve two matches of a touchline ban dating back to his previous managerial appointment at Nottingham Forest when he first took on the role.

He was warned as to his future conduct by the FA after an expletive-filled rant towards the press in early October, and the following month was charged by the FA for describing match official Martin Atkinson as a "Mickey Mouse referee".

In December he was sent to the stands by referee Mike Riley at the end of a game away to Stoke and was subsequently charged.

He will attend a hearing over that incident and the Atkinson comments in the coming weeks.