Van Nistelrooy to Vieira: “You have no class”

ARSENAL and up to five of their players face being charged by the FA in a major disciplinary crackdown after the post-match scenes which marred their draw at Old Trafford.

Manchester United and defender Gary Neville could also find themselves at the centre of the FA investigation which has now been launched into the controversial scenes after the final whistle.

However, it is Arsenal who are set to be the main defendants in the FA dock after video evidence has been reviewed by the governing body.

While the Gunners should escape the sort of points deduction with which they were hit in 1990 after a melee in the same fixture, they could still receive a hefty six-figure fine if found guilty of failing to control their players.

But the matter is not expected to end there, with the FA poised to look at whether to individually charge up to five Arsenal players for their part in the scuffles which surrounded Ruud van Nistelrooy.

The Dutchman, who angered Arsenal with his reaction to Patrick Vieira's attempted retaliation as he earned a second yellow card, is not set to be investigated himself.

However, Martin Keown, Ray Parlour and Lauren, who all raced over to harass van Nistelrooy and celebrate in his face, are at risk of receiving FA charges that could lead to suspensions or fines.

The roles of Ashley Cole and Jens Lehmann are also understood to be under review by the FA, with some reports suggesting that Cole may have attempted to throw a punch.

The FA, who may be in a position to release a further update in the next 24 to 48 hours, may have slightly more difficulty in investigating an alleged tunnel row between Vieira and van Nistelrooy.

Vieira was reportedly talking to Fabien Barthez, Robert Pires and Eric Djemba-Djemba when van Nistelrooy emerged from the home dressing-room and agreed to the Frenchman's request to speak to him, which he had made 25 minutes earlier.

However, Vieira is reported to have dismissed him with the comment "I have nothing to say to you" and continued talking to the other players.

The United striker is said to have responded "you have no class" and an unidentified eye-witness added: "Patrick was really angry when van Nistelrooy said that.

"He went towards him and said he would really make contact this time and van Nistelrooy would know what it is like to be hurt. But he was held back."

Vieira attempted to play down the significance of any of the ugly post-match scenes as he appealed for referee Bennett to reconsider his second caution for clashing with van Nistelrooy.

Indeed, in an apparent retort to compatriot Mikael Silvestre's pre-match claim that Arsenal had lost their English backbone, he insisted: "Of course, this country is all about fair play and about spirit.

"We showed the English spirit because Old Trafford is a really hard place to come to and take points. we worked really hard for each other and showed great spirit.

"It was a hard game and everybody was fighting for the ball. You can see some really good challenges but van Nistelrooy just destroyed the game by cheating and by reacting the way he did."

The incidents were so bad that even Roy Keane felt obliged to act as a peacemaker as he led Vieira away after his dismissal.

The Frenchman observed: "There is a big respect between Roy and myself. I know him really well as a player and he knows me. We are competitive players but I would do the same for him. It was about the respect between the two players."

The Arsenal captain's prime concern, however, is to overturn his dismissal, which carries an automatic one-match ban that would rule him out of his side's clash against Chelsea next month.

He recalled: "I went to take the ball on my chest. You can see that he went to jump in on me and he tried to stamp on me. You can see it on the television properly.

"That was why I reacted, but I stopped my leg and I did not touch him at all. There was loads of space between me and his body.

"Now I am crossing my fingers that I will get let off. It was a second yellow card and I cannot make an official appeal. But the referee can change his mind about the second yellow. He can look at the video and I really hope he will do that and see that he got it wrong."

Even veteran Gunners defender Frank McLintock is expecting trouble for Arsenal though he claimed that an unwarranted booking for Patrick Vieira sparked the unsavoury scenes at the finish.

"Vieira tackled for the ball and got it. He only knocked over the United player with his momentum. But after being booked unjustly it seems he was still upset when Ruud van Nistelrooy fell on top of him a few minutes later and he jabbed out with his feet.

"He shouldn't have done that, of course, but I'm sure it was because he thought the previous decision was such an injustice."

Alex Ferguson, meanwhile, defended van Nistelrooy's reputation as his rivalry with Wenger seemed to reach a new low point after the Arsenal boss accused the Dutchman of "always provoking and diving".

Ferguson blasted: "I've heard Arsene Wenger's comments and I'm disappointed by them as I think that what he said is terrible.

"Ruud van Nistelrooy has fouled Patrick Vieira and Patrick has reacted. Ruud has just tried to get out of the way, he's not dived. The referee was there and he saw it. I'm backing Ruud absolutely.

"The great thing about today is that we have television evidence and I'm very disappointed at Arsene Wenger's comments in branding him a cheat.

"If I was to talk about Arsenal in the same manner, it would create headlines which would run for days."

United have closed ranks around van Nistelrooy.

"There are some people in the game who do try and provoke others but Ruud is not one of them and every player at every other club knows it," said Phil Neville.

Ferguson also declared complete faith in van Nistelrooy's spot-kick ability, despite following up his initial Community Shield shoot-out miss against the Gunners with another the following week against Bolton before Sunday's failure.

"He probably just hit it too hard because he was trying to make sure. I don't have any doubts about him, he is a marvellous striker and he will definitely take the next penalty we get."

It is just a crying shame that there was not more respect shown at Old Trafford.

Saturday, March 27 is already looming large in the fixture calendar for the return encounter.