Drysdale charged with 'improper conduct' by FA after apologising for confrontation with Ipswich player

Referee Darren Drysdale has been charged with improper conduct by the FA after issuing an apology to Alan Judge following their confrontation on Tuesday night.

The incident, which came in the final minute of normal time during Tuesday's League One fixture between Ipswich and Northampton, saw Judge react angrily after not being awarded a penalty and that in turn sparked a response from Drysdale.

The Lincolnshire official locked heads with Ipswich's midfielder before being ushered away by Cobblers defender Lloyd Jones as well as several home players.

With the clip going viral on social media, Drysdale issued an apology on Wednesday afternoon but has since been charged with a breach of FA Rule E3. He has until March 4 to respond.

Drysdale said: "I fully understand that it is important for us as referees to maintain our composure throughout the game and always engage with players in a professional manner.

"I'm sorry that I did not do that last night and I can only apologise to Alan and Ipswich Town. As the FA are now investigating the incident, it would not be appropriate to make any further comment."

Ipswich boss Paul Lambert called for an investigation into the incident.

He told TalkSPORT: “I’ve text Mike Jones [the EFL head of referees] this morning to say: ‘Have a look at the footage of the head thing.’

“To me, in my opinion, it looks as if the referee went in there and I said to him after the game: ‘Did you put your head in my player?’ He couldn’t answer it and that’s the reason I spoke to Mike. I haven’t seen that in a long, long while.”

The Football Association said on Wednesday it was aware of the incident, and it has been reported that the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) will hold discussions with Drysdale and Ipswich.

Drysdale, appointed to the National List of referees covering EFL games in 2004, has been a Fifa and Uefa assistant referee and was an assistant at the 2000 FA Cup final.