Patrice Evra's hearing for a charge of improper conduct relating to an incident at Chelsea on April 26 has been put back.

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The Manchester United defender was involved in a fracas, which also involved Chelsea groundsman Sam Bethell, after their Premier League defeat at Stamford Bridge last season.

However, after a preliminary hearing into the case last month, an independent regulatory commission ruled the FA did not have disciplinary jurisdiction over Bethell "as his employers, Chelsea FC, had failed to notify him that he was subject to the FA's rules and regulations".

This led to the charges against Bethell - which also included using abusive language aggravated by reference to nationality and race - being dismissed, and Chelsea subsequently were charged by the FA for "failure to include the required provisions in his employment contract".

Given the substitution of the original charges, it was decided the case against Evra would also be heard at a later date, together with Chelsea, most likely next month.

Chelsea have strenuously denied the charges, which also include breaching an FA rule for failing to ensure that Bethell conducted himself in "an orderly fashion and/or refrained from any one or a combination of racist and/or abusive and/or provocative conduct and/or language".