FA confirms Keane appeal deadline

THE FA have confirmed that Roy Keane has until Friday to appeal against his five-match ban and £150,000 (€234.157) fine.

The Manchester United skipper is technically suspended from yesterday following the double guilty verdict handed down against him on the two disrepute charges he faced at Reebok Stadium, London, last month.

It had been thought that the deadline for appeal had passed without reply on Friday, with the FA stating on their official web site that the ban would take

effect from yesterday, covering next Saturday's Manchester derby and the crunch clash with Liverpool at Anfield on December 1.

However, Keane's legal team claimed immediately that they had a letter dated October 25, which confirmed they had another 14 days after that to lodge a protest against the punishment.

It has still not been decided whether Keane will appeal against the ban, which arose

after the FA took exception to comments in his autobiography concerning his tackle on Manchester City's Alfie Haaland at Old Trafford in April last year.