SWINDON Town's director of football Tim Sherwood has been charged by the Football Association over remarks made to a match official during the 1-0 defeat at Bury last Saturday.

Sherwood faces an FA rap over remarks made to an official during half-time of Town's 1-0 defeat at Gigg Lane last Saturday and has until 6pm on Monday to respond to the charge.

The former Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur boss watched the match from the stands in Greater Manchester as James Vaughan's 37th-minute penalty handed Bury the three points.

Referee Mark Brown's award of the spot kick was questioned by Town's head coach Luke Williams in the aftermatch of the contest, Williams calling the official's decision "staggering.''

An FA statement this afternoon said: "Swindon Town’s director of football Tim Sherwood has been charged by The FA in relation to the game at Bury on 11 February 2017.

"It is alleged that in or around the tunnel area at half time of the fixture, he used abusive and/or insulting and/or improper words and/or behaviour towards a match official."

He has until 6pm on 20 February 2017 to respond to the charge.

The club have this afternoon responded to the charge by saying: "We're aware of the charges and are in communication with the FA.

"We'll be dealing with it internally." 

Earlier this week it was revealed that Sherwood, whose stint at the County Ground has caused confusion among supporters over the nature of his duties, had taken a back seat when it came to the day-to-day running of the team to focus on recruitment matters.

Chairman Lee Power described Sherwood’s arrival as one of the biggest appointments in the club’s history when the 48-year-old arrived in November but Town’s fortunes failed to improve - with three league wins from the 17 games after his appointment, exactly the same as the 17 games prior.

The Football Association are also investigating events at Town's 2-1 defeat by Oxford at the County Ground at the start of the month, with both clubs having been asked for their observations.