The International Cricket Council decided to take action following complaints by Sri Lankan officials about remarks in Hair's autobiography "Decision Maker".

Hair: Could face suspension

He describes Muralitharan's bowling action as "diabolical" and says he would not hesitate to no-ball him in future.

Hair writes: "I could have called him 27 times or more but I did not want the matter to become a complete farce."

The ICC has charged Hair under section 8 of its code of conduct and has referred the matter to the Australian Cricket Board, which has agreed to set up an independent hearing of the case.

Hair will not officiate in any matches involving Sri Lanka during the current one-day series, which also features Australia and England.

Problems on tour

Muralitharan has taken 203 wickets in 42 Test appearances at an average of 26.90.

Muralitharan's action is unique

He produced match figures of 16 for 220, including nine for 65 in England's second innings, as Sri Lanka won last summer's one-off Test by 10 wickets at The Oval.

His unorthdox action came under scrutiny after Hair no-balled him seven times during a Test between Australia and Sri Lanka in 1995.

Scientific tests were carried out during an independent inquiry at the University of Western Australia in which his action was filmed from six different angles at 1,000 frames per second.

Sri Lanka insisted his action was the result of being unable to fully straighten his arm due to an anatomical defect he was born with, a view subsequently cleared by the ICC.