Richards accepts FA misconduct charge

Aston Villa defender Micah Richards has accepted a Football Association (FA) charge of improper conduct following an incident in the tunnel in last weekend's 2-1 Premier League defeat to Swansea City.

Former Manchester City man Richards and Swansea's Federico Fernandez clashed on the pitch in the first half of the game at Villa Park, with Fernandez seen pushing his head towards his opponent.

The FA decided that neither player would face a misconduct charge for that coming together, but Richards was hit with an improper conduct charge for an altercation in the tunnel.

Richards had until 6pm on Thursday to respond to the charge, but Villa posted on Twitter on Friday: "Micah Richards admits an FA charge of misconduct, relating to an incident at the end of the Swansea match." 

Last Saturday's loss proved to be the last straw for manager Tim Sherwood, who was sacked a day later with Villa bottom of the league with four points from 10 games.