English Football Association (FA) officials have confirmed they are investigating the Arsenal and Manchester United response to charges following the fracas after their Premiership clash at Old Trafford last month.
”The FA will now give full consideration to the information provided by both clubs over the next 24 hours before discussing this further publicly and confirming any hearing dates,” a statement on the FA’s website said.
Arsenal have been accused of failing to control their players, while Patrick Vieira, Martin Keown, Ashley Cole, Lauren, Ray Parlour and Jens Lehmann all face individual charges, which could net them a total suspension count of 21 games.
Manchester United’s Ryan Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo also face individual charges.
The Gunners face a six-figure fine if found guilty of failing to control their players.
Arsenal took the brunt of the blame for the chaotic scenes that followed a dramatic finale to the match in which Arsenal skipper Patrick Vieira was sent off and Ruud van Nistelrooy missed an injury-time penalty.
Vieira picked up an automatic one-match ban as a result of the red card he received at Old Trafford for kicking out at Van Nistelrooy. That means he misses Saturday’s game against Chelsea.
The latest charges have once more turned the spotlight on Arsenal’s poor disciplinary record under their French manager Arsene Wenger, who has become famous for his repeated failure to see on-the-field incidents in which his players have been at fault.
Since Wenger took over in 1996, Arsenal players have lost 148 games to suspension, more than 20 matches a season. Vieira alone has missed the equivalent of half a season.
In those seven years, they have received 52 red cards, compared to 21 for United in the same period. — Sapa-AFP