Leyton Orient have appealed against the FA charge given to vice-captain Liam Kelly following an incident in their 3-2 win over Plymouth Argyle.

The 27-year-old is alleged to have pushed one of The Pilgrims ball boys, who was revealed to be aged 17 and was charged with violent conduct by the Football Association.

Orient released a club statement this evening regarding the incident and said: “It was never the intention of Liam to be violent and he apologises profusely to both the ball boy and Plymouth Argyle.

“The club strongly deny the accusation of violent conduct given to the player and reference an incident involving Matt Ritchie whilst playing for Swindon Town in a game against Oxford United on March 3, 2012, where the player was only cautioned for a similar offence.

“In addition, an incident involving Eden Hazard during a Capital One Cup match on January 23, 2013, for Chelsea against Swansea City also took place, where the player not only pushed but also kicked the ball boy in the ribs. This incident was heard by a Commission, where a three-game ban was deemed sufficient.

“Due to this, we feel that what happened on Tuesday with Liam is no more serious than the above cases.”

A statement from the FA on Thursday afternoon stated the standard punishment of three-games would be "clearly insufficent". 

A player sent-off for violent conduct during a game would gain a three-match suspension.

Kelly had until 6pm today to appeal against the charge and the FA are expected to make an announcement this evening.