The Football Association has charged Watford manager Adrian Boothroyd with directing abusive and/or insulting words towards referee Stuart Attwell during his side's controversial 2-2 draw with Reading last weekend.

Boothroyd was sent from the technical area during the second half of Saturday's Championship match after becoming frustrated when his team were denied the opportunity to take a quick throw-in.

He had also been livid in the first half when the linesman Nigel Bannister awarded Reading a 13th-minute goal despite the ball going well wide of the target.

"I've never seen anything like it," said Boothroyd of the phantom goal after the game. "It's like a UFO landing, a mistake like that.

"I've been to see the referee and in fairness he's only going on what the linesman says. He's working in a team and if someone comes in his ear telling him it's a goal then I suppose he's got to give it.

"I thought it was a goal-kick. What do you say to that? It was a strange sort of feeling because I was trying to calm my team down and get them going but all I could think was 'what was that for?'."

Boothroyd has until October 10 to respond to the charge.