Newcastle United and Sunderland have both been charged with misconduct following Sunday's Tyne-Wear derby at the Sports Direct Arena.

The Football Association have charged the clubs for their failure to "ensure their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion and/or refrained from provocative behaviour".

Both clubs have until 4pm on Monday 12 March to respond to the charge.

The Mackems had Lee Cattermole and Stephane Sessegnon both sent off while Magpies defender Danny Simpson's reaction to a challenge from James McClean sparked a mass brawl at the Gallowgate End.

In a bad-tempered affair, the managers almost came to blows in the dugout. Alan Pardew, one of the touchline's more irritable characters and Martin O'Neill, one of the touchline's most jittery characters, had to be separated after Pardew complained about Sunderland's physical approach. Who'd a thunk it?

Sessegnon was sent off for slapping Toon midfielder Cheick Tiote, who will not be retrospectively punished for feigning agony. Like a Scooby-Doo villain with that extra savvy, he did get away with it thanks to those crazy kids at the FA.

Cattermole, reliably hot-headed, was lucky not to be sent off within 40 seconds of the match for a scything challenge on Tiote, and surpassed expectations by refraining from being carded for the rest of the match.

However he then called referee Mike Dean a "c***" after the shrill of the final whistle and received a straight red, brandished flamboyantly by arch poseur Dean.

The ex-Middlesbrough midfielder will serve a four-match suspension since it is his second dismissal of the season while Sessegnon's "violent conduct" warrants a three-game ban.

Amidst all this, Nicklas Bendtner scored. Best till last, eh Nicklas?

The poor man's Zlatan