The charge follows an incident in the tunnel at the end of Aston Villa's 2-1 defeat to Swansea on Saturday.
Fernandez in the clear
The tunnel was seen to be shaking from side to side after the teams entered it at the final whistle with Richards still angry following a clash with Fernandez during the game.
The FA studied that initial incident and decided not to take any action against Richards or Fernandez as the panel did not find either player had committed an act of violent conduct. However, Richards will face action after continuing the argument after the match.
It is another blow to Villa, who are bottom of the Barclays Premier League and sacked manager Tim Sherwood on Sunday after their sixth straight defeat.
Richards has until 6pm on Thursday to reply to his charge.