Nigel Pearson 'escapes' FA charge over James McArthur throat grab as dispute with Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker rages on

Pearson grabbed the Crystal Palace midfielder around the neck but the Leicester manager appears to have avoided punishment after laughing off the incident

Nigel Pearson and Palace's James McArthur were involved in an altercation on the touchline (Getty) (Plumb Images/Leicester City FC/Getty Images)

Nigel Pearson has escaped punishment for appearing to throttle James McArthur but has been reminded of his responsibilities by the Football Association, it is understood.

Video: Watch Pearson and McArthur incident here

Leicester boss Pearson appeared to grab McArthur around the throat during Crystal Palace's 1-0 win at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.

The FA is understood to have contacted Pearson, who had been rumoured to have been sacked on Sunday, but will not take any further action against the Foxes boss.

Leicester, who are still rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table, take on Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night.

Pearson has attempted to laugh off his touchline scuffle with Palace's record signing McArthur, who almost joined Leicester when leaving Wigan last summer.

Leicester manager Pearson rounded on Match of the Day pundits after the BBC show's panel condemned his handling of the incident with the Palace midfielder.

Pearson accused the BBC pundits of making "a mountain out of a molehill".

Gary Lineker branded the incident "strange", while Danny Murphy questioned any "underlying" issue after McArthur's transfer from Wigan to Leicester collapsed in the summer.

Pearson said: "I thought they were slightly disruptive, yes. I don't care what they think of me, I pay my tax bills. I didn't see it until the morning.

"It's not helpful when the three fountains of knowledge on Match of the Day make a mountain out of a molehill, there's nothing in that on Saturday. The lad's okay and it was very light-hearted.

"He has said that too. It was all very light-hearted, if you see the pictures it was with smiles."

Pearson looks to escaped FA action over his incident with McArthur (Getty Images)

Pearson claimed after Saturday's defeat he could "look after himself", but Lineker hinted on Twitter Pearson was sacked by one member of the Srivaddhanaprabha family, who own the club, before being reinstated by another.

When asked if he was a fountain of knowledge, the former England striker tweeted: "If I was I'd tell you that he was sacked by one of the owners' family and reinstated by another, but then I'm not."

The club took almost four hours on Sunday evening to dismiss claims Pearson had been axed.

PA