Antolín Alcaraz faces FA charge for spitting during defeat at Wolves

Antolín Alcaraz, the Wigan Athletic captain, is expected to be charged by the Football Association with improper conduct and faces a possible three‑match ban after he was caught on camera spitting at the Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Richard Stearman. The flashpoint occurred towards the end of Wigan's 3-1 defeat at Molineux – an eighth successive Premier League defeat that leaves them anchored to the foot of the table – and prompted a furious response from the Wolves players. Lee Probert, the referee, missed the incident, which took place in the 83rd minute following a Wigan corner, when Alcaraz tumbled to the ground and appealed for a penalty. Christophe Berra appeared to suggest that the Paraguayan had made the most of the contact between them, and a brief altercation between the pair followed before other Wolves players became involved. Television footage shows Alcaraz spitting over Berra's shoulder and in the direction of Stearman, who later confirmed that he was the victim. Had Probert seen the incident, the official would have had no option but to show a straight red card to a player who had already been booked earlier in the game. Instead the matter will now be placed in the hands of the FA's disciplinary unit, which will review the footage after speaking to Probert before deciding whether to take retrospective action. It seems inevitable, though, that Alcaraz will be charged by the FA, given the strength of the evidence against him. Asked whether he was on the receiving end of Alcaraz's despicable behaviour, Stearman said: "Yes, but I'm not going to speak about it. A couple of the lads have spoken on it and said it was out of order and it needs to be stamped out. I'll let other people talk about it and let other people deal with it. "I won't push for anything [like an official review], it's one of those things. It's not nice." When it was suggested that there was no place for spitting in football, Stearman replied: "No[, I agree]." Mick McCarthy, the Wolves manager, added: "I haven't seen that [incident] but spitting is taboo. I only ever had it once and it's fair to say he [the perpetrator] didn't come too close to me for a long time after that. That's unacceptable behaviour and I think anyone in here [the press room] would react accordingly. If that's what's happened, he shouldn't be doing it." There was a mêlée on the edge of the penalty area after Alcaraz spat at Stearman and it was clear that the Wolves playerswere still angry with the Wigan central defender after the final whistle. "You can't spit," said Jamie O'Hara, who scored the first of Wolves' three goalsin a much needed win that lifts the club to 13th place and eases the pressure on McCarthy. "There is no need for that in the game. We are all footballers. We shake hands after the game but you can't be spitting at people. That is not right. You can't be doing that." Dave Edwards, scorer of the second Wolves goal, said: "That [Alcaraz spitting at Stearman] is out of order. That shouldn't be brought into the game and hopefully he should be pulled up on that. I'm sure with the television footage as well, some sort of action should be taken." Roberto Martínez, the Wigan manager, was unaware of the incident when he spoke immediately after the match. "If that's the case [that Alcaraz spat at a Wolves player], I will look into it and find out," he said.