GUS POYET could escape a touchline ban despite being charged with improper conduct by the Football Association for his actions during Sunderland’s draw at Hull City on Tuesday night.

The Black Cats and Poyet are still to decide on how to answer the charge and have until 6pm on Monday to respond to the FA before he learns of his fate ahead of the visit of Aston Villa to the Stadium of Light a week tomorrow.

But Northern Echo Sport understands that the Uruguayan does not automatically face a touchline ban for being sent to the stands during the first half at the KC Stadium.

Depending on what referee Mike Dean has included in his report and how replays of the incident have been viewed, the FA could decide to merely issue a warning or dish out a fine. He could even escape a punishment.

The charge purely relates to the moment when Poyet kicked over a drinks bucket containing a number of plastic bottles in the 35th minute against Hull, leaving his backroom team to clean it up.

He had reacted angrily to the decision to issue Sunderland midfielder Jack Rodwell a yellow card for diving when he went to ground in the box following a challenge from Alex Bruce.

The South American then confronted Hull boss Steve Bruce when he sarcastically clapped in his face as well as saying something, although neither manager has revealed what. That spat, though, is not what interests the FA.

Bruce, who has been reminded of his responsibilities by the FA for his part, had to be restrained by an assistant referee, but Poyet will find out next week exactly what the FA’s disciplinary committee decide.

The Sunderland boss is desperate to be in control from his technical area for the visit of Villa, knowing how important the fixture has become in the fight to stay in the Premier League.

The Villlans, boosted to victory over West Brom in midweek following the arrival of Tim Sherwood as boss, are a point behind the Wearsiders, who have won just one of their last 11 league matches.

The poor form has seen Sunderland fail to climb significantly clear of the relegation zone and have just a four-point cushion over the bottom three going in to the final ten matches of the season.

Swedish midfielder Seb Larsson said: “They’re all big games now. We went away to United which was a tough game and then to Hull City but we have a couple of games coming up at home where we have to pick up points.

“We picked up one on Tuesday and hopefully we will pick up three next weekend at Aston Villa. We said at the break at Hull that it is now crunch-time and we had to stay mentally strong to make sure we get something from the game.”