London, Oct. 13 : Liverpool coach Rafa Benitez fears he could become a scapegoat for Alex Ferguson''s referee rant.

According to The Sun, Benitez landed a misconduct charge following the opening-game defeat at Spurs, when Phil Dowd turned down a late Reds penalty claim.

Benitez is facing a huge fine and possible touchline ban for his criticism of Dowd under the FA''s new code of conduct aimed at protecting referees from verbal attacks.

The hearing is being held at a secret location. (ANI)