Mascherano Charged and Likely to Miss Reds' Visit to Arsenal

Javier Mascherano is likely to miss Liverpool's league game at Arsenal after being charged with improper conduct for his furious reaction to being sent off against Manchester United on Sunday.

The Football Association charged the Argentinian yesterday, having studied the referee Steve Bennett's match report, which noted the midfielder's aggressive response to his second yellow card and refusal to leave the field of play. The FA charge relates specifically to the dissent shown towards Bennett, and its disciplinary body, which has the power to increase Mascherano's one-match suspension, is due to announce its punishment the day before Liverpool play Arsène Wenger's side at The Emirates. "He has until 6pm tomorrow [Thursday] to respond," an FA statement said. "The case will be heard by a regulatory commission on April 4."

Mascherano may request a personal hearing and is expected to receive at least an additional one-match suspension. The 23-year-old is already suspended from this Sunday's derby with Everton at Anfield.

Liverpool's defender Sami Hyypia may sign a contract extension this weekend that would extend his Anfield career to a decade. The 34-year-old, signed by Gérard Houllier in 1999, is out of contract this summer and has been linked with moves to Newcastle and Fulham, but the Finn is keen to stay and the offer of a 12-month extension is imminent. "Rick Parry [the chief executive] is due to talk to Sami's agent this weekend and we hope everything will then be finished," said Rafael Benítez, the Liverpool manager.

The Finn was expected to find his appearances limited this season, with Daniel Agger and then Martin Skrtel providing competition, but the veteran has played 37 times and consistently well in the absence of Agger. The Dane has had surgery on a metatarsal fracture and is not expected to return until next season.

David Moyes has underlined his commitment to signing British players and said he will continue actively to recruit them. "When we took over at Everton it was to avoid being in the bottom six; now our buying is to be in the top six," he said. "I am very keen to keep bringing in British boys. That's why we put a lot of effort into scouting in the UK."

Moyes has also proved adept at identifying talents such as Joleon Lescott, something he puts down to his time at Preston. "When I was managing at Preston our shopping tended to be in the Premier League reserve teams," he added. "The knowledge I had from being there helped me in that. For many years Everton haven't really been able to compete as closely as we'd like but we are now on the shoulders of Liverpool and a couple of other teams and we have got to try and stay there."