Michael Ball, the Manchester City defender, and Fulham's Michael Brown have both been charged with violent conduct by the Football Association following incidents in their respective Barclaycard Premiership matches last weekend.

Ball's charge came after he stamped on Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo in the first minute of the Manchester derby at Eastlands while the Portugal winger was lying on the ground. Brown has been accused of aiming a head-butt at Liverpool's Xabi Alonso during Fulham's 1-0 victory at Craven Cottage.

Both players have until 6pm on Wednesday to respond to the charges, which carry an automatic three-match suspension. Under the FA's fast-track procedure, the cases will be heard by a disciplinary commission on Thursday.

Both players have avoided the greater charge of serious conduct, which was brought against City defender Ben Thatcher for his elbow on Pedro Mendes last year, and resulted in an eight-month ban. Ball's stamp on Ronaldo brought scathing criticism from Sir Alex Ferguson, the United manager, who said: "I could not believe it. I don't know what got into him. It was the first minute of the game. I don't know if it was instructions, or he was hyped up. It was incredible."

Meanwhile, Brown's confrontation with Alonso left the Spaniard nursing a bloody nose and prompted an angry response from Rafael Benitez, who said: "It was clear and everybody saw it."

Ball has apologised for the stamp and admitted the FA charge. He told Manchester City's website: "I deeply regret what I did and have accepted the FA's charge without hesitation. I have also sent a personal apology to Cristiano. My action should not be seen on a football pitch and I know we have a responsibility at Premier League level to set a good example to the whole football community. I am proud of my disciplinary record and have never been sent off in my professional career."

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