Newcastle United midfielder Jonjo Shelvey has pleaded not guilty to the Football Association's charge of using racially abusive language against Wolves' Roman Saiss when the two sides met on September 17th.
Shelvey has requested a personal FA hearing.
The incident
Despite the game being played two months ago, the incident was only brought to the attention of the media a few weeks ago. Members of Wolves' squad informed referee Tim Robinson straight after the game, when Saiss told them of Shelvey's apparent language.
Saiss' English grasp is admittedly poor though, as he was born in France. This means the matter is somewhat more complicated.
The reported racial slur occured in the 87th minute, during the aftermath of Vurnon Anita's dismissal for a poorly timed challenge.
Club statement
Newcastle and Shelvey had until 6pm this evening to enter a plea and they left it late by announcing their decision at 4pm today.
The club released a statement earlier confirming Shelvey had pleaded not guilty and that the player wanted a "personal hearing with the FA over this matter". If found guilty, Shelvey would face a minimum of five games on the sidelines.
Newcastle supporters will be hoping Shelvey escapes punishment, as he has been a stand out player for them so far this season. His three goals and five assists have helped the club move three points clear at the top of the Championship.
Historic bans
Although it is not a common charge in England, there has been other times in which players have been hit with excessive bans for similar racial accusations.
Just this season, Burnley striker Andre Gray received a four-game ban after his Twitter comments from 2012 were deemed homophobic by the FA.
Famously Luis Suarez and John Terry were hit with spells on the sidelines after using racially aggrivated language towards Patrice Evra and Anton Ferdinand respectively.