Chelsea's Ivanovic charged

London - Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic was hit with a violent conduct charge on Tuesday following an off-the-ball clash in last weekend's win over Wigan Athletic.

Television footage showed Ivanovic appearing to aim a punch at Wigan midfielder Shaun Maloney during his side's 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge, an incident not spotted by match officials at the time.

Ivanovic, who has until 18:00 (17:00GMT) on Wednesday to respond to the charge, faces a three-match ban if the allegation is upheld, which would rule him out of this weekend's FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur.

"Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic has today been charged by The FA with violent conduct following an incident in his side's game against Wigan Athletic," a Football Association statement said.

"Ivanovic was involved in an incident with Wigan's Shaun Maloney, which was not seen by the Match Officials, but caught on video, during his side's 2-1 victory at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, 7 April 2012."