Papy Djilobodji has been charged for an alleged act of violent conduct against West Brom which was not seen by the match officials but caught on video.
The Sunderland defender was involved in an incident with Albion's Darren Fletcher in the 86th minute of the game on Saturday.
He has until 6pm on Tuesday, January 24 to reply to the charge. Off-the-ball incidents which are not seen at the time by the match officials are referred to a panel of three former elite officials.
Each panel member will review the video footage independently of one another to determine whether they consider it a sending-off offence. For retrospective action to be taken, and an FA charge to follow, the decision of the panel must be unanimous.
Djilobodji appeared to punch Fletcher while the pair were lining up for a free-kick during Sunderland's 2-0 defeat at The Hawthorns.