Benitez charged after Tottenham ref rant

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has been charged with improper conduct by the English Football Association after his rant at the officials after his side’s defeat against Tottenham last month.

Benitez was furious with referee Phil Dowd for failing to award two late penalties in Liverpool’s 2-1 opening weekend loss at White Hart Lane.

Tottenham defender Bonoit Assou-Ekotto shoulder-charged Andriy Voronin and then handled Fernando Torres’s cross.

“The decisions were very poor. Everyone could see the first one was a penalty. The second one was handball but we knew it would not be a penalty,” Benitez said at the time.

The Spanish coach also claimed fourth official Stuart Attwell was too young to be involved in a top Premier League match after he sent off Benitez’s assistant Sammy Lee for protesting about the penalty decisions.

“For the fourth official, he is a young referee and maybe he has to calm down a little bit. He is too young,” Benitez complained after the match.

Benitez has until 15 September 2009 to respond to the FA charges.

“Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has been charged with improper conduct by The FA, following comments made to the media after his side’s fixture at Tottenham Hotspur on 16 August,” an FA statement on Tuesday confirmed.