Chelsea's Ivanovic facing violent conduct charge for 'HEADBUTT' on James McCarthy

Chelsea's ferocious defender Branislav Ivanovic is at the center of a violent conduct storm following Wednesday night's win over Everton.

In the event of Gareth Barry's dismissal, the Serbian had James McCarthy in a head on and appeared to attempt a headbutt in the midfielder's direction.

Post-match photos also led many to question whether Ivanovic had really BITTEN the Everton midfielder, who was booked while the Chelsea man escaped without a card.

Few moments later, Willian struck a late winner to hand Chelsea all three points, with Ivanovic involved in the build-up, leaving Toffees boss Roberto Martinez furious that he was still on the pitch.

"My players were really unhappy about that. It's the reaction of the Chelsea players you don't like. Ivanovic grabs James McCarthy by the throat," said the Spaniard.

"You need a good referee for those matters. You have to take your chances. You don't want to see the incidents we saw at the end.

"I was disappointed with the manner in which the referee dealt with it."

Martinez added: “If you look at the images Ivanovic’s behaviour is wrong. He grabs him around the neck in a forceful manner then puts his head against him when James McCarthy didn’t react and if you want to be on top of the laws, that’s a red card.

“If you want to analyse that action (when it leads to the goal) it’s even more hurtful. You just don’t want to see teams winning games in that manner.”

Blues boss Jose Mourinho sublimed the incident, instead opting to praise the officials for their decision to disallow Nemanja Matic's strike for offside.

He said: "Did Branislav Ivanovic go in with his head? Don't make me laugh. Don't make me laugh."

The Special One continued: “I’m more concerned with my reaction because one more question, I leave, and then you are not happy. The next question for that story, I leave.

“You know, I am tired of the stories and I am never tired of football. Football is emotion and that is what he had here.

"We risked a lot to try to win. It was a refereeing performance that in my opinion was very good. We had a goal which was fantastically well disallowed by the assistant referee. A great decision."

In year 2013, Ivanovic was on the receiving end of a bite from Luis Suarez during a 2-2 draw with Liverpool.

Suarez was subsequently handed a 10-match suspension following the incident, before being banned overall from all football for four months after a repeat incident at the World Cup.

Because the Serb wasn't punished immediately, he could still face retrospective action with the incident caught on camera.