LONDON (AFP) - Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano was charged on Wednesday with improper conduct following his reaction to being sent off against Manchester United on Sunday, the Football Association announced.

He has until 1800GMT Thursday to respond. The case will be heard by a Regulatory Commission on Friday, April 4.

The Argentina midfielder is currently serving a mandatory one-match suspension for the sending-off.

But it was his petulant response to being shown a red card by match referee Steve Bennett, which saw members of the Liverpool coaching staff having to all but drag him off the field at Old Trafford in a match his side lost 3-0, which has left him facing the prospect of a three-game ban.

"The charge relates to his reaction towards referee Steve Bennett after being sent off against Manchester United on Sunday, March 23," an FA statement confirmed.

Mascherano had already been booked for a foul when he persisted in asking why team-mate Fernando Torres had also been cautioned.

Bennett did not take kindly to this and gave Mascherano his second booking for dissent.

Despite what happened, Mascherano told the Liverpool Echo on Monday: "I do not know why I was sent off. I asked the referee what was happening. I did not swear; I was not aggressive and I did not confront him."

Mascherano's sending-off came at the end of a week where the FA had launched a campaign designed to improve player behaviour towards officials at all levels and where Chelsea defender Ashley Cole had been much criticised for turning his back on a referee while being booked in a 4-4 draw against Tottenham.

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez fears his fellow Spanish speaker will be made an example of in the current climate even though his expulsion was the first time this season a Reds player had been sent-off.

"At Liverpool, we respect the game; we respect the rules and we respect the referee," said Spanish boss Benitez.

"And it is important to remember that Mascherano was the first Liverpool player to be sent off in the league this season."

Mascherano is set to miss Sunday's Merseyside derby against Everton.

But any extension, which could rule the player, currently in Egypt with the Argentina squad, out of the games with Arsenal and Blackburn.

That would likely trigger a demand for a personal hearing by Liverpool which in itself would delay the imposition of a ban.

Liverpool are fourth in the table, just two points ahead of Everton - their closest challenges for the fourth and final English qualifying place for next season's Champions League.

Defeat at Old Trafford left them 14 points behind leaders United, the reigning Premier League champions, and effectively ended any lingering title hopes Benitez's men may have had with seven league matches of the season left.