Todd denies violent conduct charge
 |  Van Persie receives attention at the end of Arsenal's semifinal victory |
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LONDON, England -- Blackburn captain Andy Todd has denied an English FA charge of violent conduct during Saturday's FA Cup semifinal defeat by Arsenal, the FA website reported on Wednesday.
Todd appeared to elbow Arsenal's Robin van Persie in the face immediately after the Dutch forward had scored his second goal in stoppage time to seal a 3-0 victory.
The case will be heard by the FA's disciplinary commission on Thursday.
Defender Todd, who faces a three-match ban, has proclaimed his innocence claiming that he did not see van Persie as the player wheeled away to celebrate.
Referee Steve Dunn is understood to have made no mention of the incident in his match report as he did not witness it himself.
Blackburn manager Mark Hughes has defended his skipper's conduct saying: "I spoke to Andy immediately after the game and he assured me it was a complete accident.
"I've looked at it again and my view is that I agree with him. When they come into contact with one another, as van Persie turns and wheels away, the ball is not even in the net at that point.
"If you look at the video, Andy's focus is entirely on the ball, with van Persie just colliding into him."
