Keane awaits Euro punishment after red card in Porto

MANCHESTER United skipper Roy Keane will find out on March 5 exactly how many European games he will miss following his dismissal against FC Porto on Wednesday.

Keane is automatically ruled out of the Champions League second leg between the two sides at Old Trafford on March 9 after he was red-carded for treading on keeper Vitor Baia four minutes from the end of Porto's 2-1 victory.

However, the Irishman could receive another two games on top if UEFA's disciplinary committee believe the offence to be serious enough to warrant a punishment upgrade.

The 32-year-old midfielder, who was suspended for the 1999 Champions League final victory over Bayern Munich due to the number of bookings he had received earlier in the competition, faces the prospect of missing both legs of the quarter-final should United qualify.

If Alex Ferguson's men do not make it through, Keane will be forced to sit out the first two matches of next season's European campaign.

Ferguson confronted Porto coach Jose Mourinho after the game, furious over Baia's theatrical reaction.

But pouring scorn on Ferguson's reaction, Mourinho said: "I understand why he is a bit emotional.

"You would be sad if your team gets as clearly dominated by opponents who have been built on 10% of the budget."

Mourinho also demanded Ferguson apologise for his comments about Baia.

"Ferguson told me in the tunnel that he thought Vitor had made the most of it," added Mourinho.

The Porto coach refused to confirm claims the United boss had refused to shake hands with him after the game.

"I said I wanted to see it on television before I would make a comment but if he was right, I would apologise.

"However, if he has no reason to make the claim, he can apologise to me.

"Vitor told me he was diving for the ball, Keane left his foot in and he felt a bit of pain with the contact.

"I understand why he is a bit emotional. He has some top players in the world and they should be doing a lot better than that."

Meanwhile, Ferguson admitted his side would be weaker without Keane.

"It goes without saying that we would prefer Roy to be in our team," said Ferguson. "There was no malice in the incident, it is not Roy's style."

Ryan Giggs has promised worried Manchester United fans that his side will bounce back from their crushing disappointment in Porto last night.

Giggs was the only attacking member of the Red Devils squad to impress against the Portuguese league leaders and the Welshman was keen to talk up United's chances.

"We didn't play anywhere near as well as we can," he said.