The English Football Association charged Arsenal and Chelsea with misconduct on Tuesday following the mass brawl in stoppage time that marred Sunday's League Cup final.

Arsenal's Emmanuel Eboue has been charged with violent conduct for striking Chelsea's Wayne Bridge in the final minutes of the game won 2-1 by Chelsea.

Emmanuel Adebayor, one of two Arsenal players red-carded, has been charged with reacting aggressively and failing to leave the field of play immediately after being sent off.

Both players have the right to respond by Wednesday.

The FA later rejected the appeals of Adebayor and Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel for wrongful dismissal. Adebayor will serve an automatic three-match ban, plus any more he gets for the subsequent charge, while Mikel is suspended for four matches as this was his second dismissal of the season.

Both players were sent off for violent conduct during stoppage time, along with Arsenal defender Kolo Toure, who has accepted his card and apologised for his behaviour.

Eboue's case will be heard by a Disciplinary Commission on Thursday on the basis of documents and video evidence.

Adebayor's case will be heard on March 6.

In a statement on its Web site (www.thefa.com), the FA said that as this charge is outside the jurisdiction of the match officials -- he had already been sent off -- Adebayor has the right to a personal hearing.

FINAL FIRST

Although Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho and his Arsenal counterpart Arsene Wenger came on to the field of play during the fracas, the FA has not levelled any individual charges against officials from either club.

Both men were seen to be trying to calm their players down.

The FA said in its statement that the main charge against the two clubs was that they "failed to ensure that their players and/or officials conducted themselves in an orderly fashion and/or refrained from provocative and/or violent behaviour."

The clubs have until March 14 to respond.

It was the first time in English soccer history that any club has had two players sent off in a major final. There were also seven yellow cards - two related to the brawl.

Since Wenger became Arsenal manager in Sept. 1996, Arsenal have had 68 players sent off, five of them this season.