Kyle Lightbourne will not face charges following an alleged altercation between the Macclesfield Town striker and a fan, but has been warned by the English Football Association.

Lightbourne had an exchange of views with a supporter at the end of the match between the Silkmen and their Third Division rivals Exeter City on January 25.

Macclesfield, struggling in the lower reaches of the league at the time, conceded an equaliser to the lowly Grecians in injury time and feelings were said to have been running high, both on the pitch and in the stands.

Match referee Mike Pike included the incident in his game report and sent it to FA headquarters in London.

The FA later confirmed they had received the comments and were in the process of asking both Macclesfield, Exeter and finally Lightbourne for their observations.

In an article in the Mid Ocean News on March 28, Lightbourne played down the incident.

"I didn't have to go up in front of the FA, it was not as serious as some of the reports had said," Lightbourne was quoted as saying.

"A few people saw the incident and backed up my story. It's been dealt with and is all over. A supporter was giving the whole team a bit of grief and I just said something back to him. We were leading 1-0 and they scored with the last kick of the game."

Yesterday, the FA confirmed Lightbourne had escaped a formal rap.

But Andrin Cooper, of the FA's media office, told The Royal Gazette yesterday: "Kyle Lightbourne has been warned as to his future conduct. He will not serve any suspension.

"The incident was judged to be not serious enough to warrant a charge and possible suspension from the FA. Kyle has been fined by his club and it was felt that this was sufficient punishment.

"The original report of the incident came from the match delegate. Kyle will have received a written warning."

Meanwhile, on a lighter note, Lightbourne is continuing to keep the young pretenders waiting as he enjoys an Indian summer at the Moss Rose. He hit his 12th goal of the campaign in the 1-1 draw with Cambridge on Saturday - a left-foot drive into the top corner after 41 minutes.

After coming off the transfer list he is now described by manager David Moss as "one of the first names I put on the team sheet", and the goal will give him further ammunition when it comes to renegotiating a new contract in May.

Even with seven other forwards currently at the club, Lightbourne is said to hold the trump cards in both attack and defence as the most proficient man at holding the ball up and introducing the midfield runners.