Javier Mascherano is to be fined £20,000 by Liverpool for his reaction to being shown the red card against Manchester United on Sunday. The Argentina midfield player, who earns about £60,000 a week, has also accepted the FA’s charge of improper conduct, which is likely to result in an additional suspension of one or two matches when he attends a personal hearing on Thursday.

“We have fined Mascherano,” Rafael BenÍtez, the Liverpool manager, said. “He has accepted the fine and he proposed that I give the fine to charity, so, internally, the situation is sorted. He knew after the game that he had made a mistake and he accepts that.”

BenÍtez said Mascherano would be missed when he serves his mandatory one-match suspension against Everton tomorrow, but he declined to comment on what would be the appropriate action for the FA to take. The club hope that Mascherano will escape with no more than an additional one-match ban.

Lucas Leiva, the Brazil midfield player, is likely to deputise tomorrow and BenÍtez is confident that there will be no repeat among his players of the ill-discipline that Mascherano showed last weekend. “There was no problem with red cards before last weekend, so I don’t think there will be any problem in the future,” the manager said. “The players know they have to play with their heads.”

The Spaniard expressed confidence that Lucas can fill the void left by Mascherano, who has been an influence on the side this season. “Lucas can come in,” BenÍtez said. “He played well against Inter Milan, so why can he not play well against Everton? He can do the job.”