Brighton Striker Florin Andone Charged With Violent Conduct for Deliberate Elbow

The FA has charged Brighton striker Florin Andone with violent conduct after he deliberately swung an elbow into the face of West Brom's Sam Field.

The incident occurred in the 27th minute of the FA Cup fourth round replay at the Hawthorns on Wednesday evening, when Andone appeared to purposefully swing his left arm into Field's face, leaving the 20-year-old on the floor.

The incident was not seen by referee Paul Tierney or either of his assistants and Andone went on to score the equaliser after Kyle Bartley's opener, with Brighton eventually prevailing 3-1 after extra time.

On Thursday, the FA Spokesperson on Twitter confirmed that Andone had been charged with violent conduct after video footage of the incident was reviewed.

A violent conduct charge usually brings a three-match ban, so Andone is likely to miss Brighton's fifth round tie against Derby and any subsequent quarter-final and semi-final as well.

A summer signing from Deportivo La Coruna, Andone has scored four goals this season including two in the FA Cup, with his strike against West Brom adding to his goal in the third round win over Bournemouth.

Brighton manager Chris Hughton and his Baggies counterpart Darren Moore both claimed after the game that they had not seen the incident.

"It's the first I know about it. Normally if there are any incidents in the game, generally I know about it," said Hughton, quoted by the Argus. "I must admit, I haven't seen it and nobody's mentioned it to me."

Andone has until 6pm on Friday to respond to the charge.