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Barry charged with insulting match official

"Manchester City's Gareth Barry has been charged by The FA for a breach of its Rule E3 in that he used abusive and/or insulting words towards a match official following the Manchester City v Manchester United game on Sunday 9 December 2012," a statement on the FA's website said on Tuesday.

The England midfielder has until 1600 GMT on Thursday to respond to the charge.

The match, won 3-2 by United, was marred by crowd trouble following Robin van Persie's late winner at the Etihad Stadium.

As he was recovering, City fan Matthew Stott ran onto the pitch and tried to reach him, but was restrained by the home side's goalkeeper Joe Hart.

Professional Footballers' Association boss Gordon Taylor has since suggested netting should be erected in some parts of stadiums to protect players from objects being hurled from the crowd, while the FA's chairman David Bernstein has said fans who "hijack" matches with bad behaviour should be banned for life.