West Ham and Aston Villa face Football Association charges after unsavoury scenes in Women’s Super League clash

West Ham and Aston Villa have been charged by the Football Association following ugly scenes at the end of their Women’s Super League fixture.

Defender Hawa Cissoko was sent off for the London club – who won the match 2-1 – after lashing out at Villa’s Sarah Mayling and has been accused of “violent behaviour”.

Both clubs have been charged with “failing to ensure their players and officials conducted themselves in an orderly fashion”.

West Ham manager Paul Konchesky also received a red card for his part in a melee which broke out following the incident, with the former England international charged with “improper behaviour”, alongside Villa’s operations assistant Jack Hopkins.

Villa say they’ll be contesting both charges, while West Ham have until Monday to respond.

Due to the deadline for appeals, Konchesky will be able to lead his team from the touchline in their next match against Reading.

In reaction to the scenes at the Bescot Stadium, Villa manager Carla Ward – who watched her team lose for the first time this season in the fixture – said she had “never seen anything like it in the game”.

Both Cissoko and Mayling have been subjected to online abuse after their unsavoury clash.

West Ham say they are “disgusted” by the hateful messages their player has received, saying, “While we in no way condone Hawa’s actions on the pitch, for which she has apologised, there is no place for this [abuse] in society and we condemn it unreservedly.”

The club has confirmed that information about the messages has been passed on to the police and relevant social media companies.

Meanwhile, Ward said, “neither of them deserves to have to go through what they went through”, but she’s advised Mayling to stay away from social media this week and “focus on football” instead.

Meanwhile, Cissoko tweeted an apology, expressing her “sincere regret” for the incident but condemned people who found “pleasure” in sending her abuse online.

West Ham are sixth in the WSL table, while, despite suffering their first defeat, Aston Villa are fourth ahead of their next match against Everton, who are just one place below them.