Thompson faces ban

Oldham forward Alex Thompson could miss the start of the Championship 1 season after he was charged by the RFL with striking an opponent.

He is alleged to have been involved in an off-the-ball incident with Dewsbury forward Dwayne Barker which referee Jamie Bloem placed on report in the 46th minute of last Sunday’s Northern Rail Cup clash at Whitebank.

His case will go before the league’s disciplinary committee on Tuesday — five days before Oldham go to Workington Town in their opening game of the 2012 Co-operative Championship One campaign.

If he were to plead guilty or be found guilty, a match suspension would rule him out of the big kick-off.

Oldham are in the process of reviewing the incident on DVD before discussing it with 21-year-old Thompson and deciding what action to take.

Under new disciplinary procedures, he can plead guilty and take a one-match ban or contest it, attend Tuesday’s judiciary, and face the possibility of getting a two-match ban if the hearing went against him.

The former Warrington youngster, highly rated at Whitebank, has broken into the first-team squad this season after starring in the Oldham reserve team which won last season’s Reserves Championship.