Beckham gives Fergie incident the boot

DAVID BECKHAM has assured all Manchester United fans that he has put the incident with manager Alex Ferguson behind him.

Beckham required treatment after being struck by a boot which was kicked by Ferguson in the United dressing room following the 2-0 defeat by Arsenal in the FA Cup fifth round at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Beckham, in a statement issued by his management company SFX, told the Press Association: "I want to assure all Manchester United fans that there is complete harmony and focus as we prepare for the Juventus game.

"The dressing room incident was just one of those things it's all in the past now," added Beckham, on the eve of tomorrow's Champions League game with Juventus at Old Trafford.

Beckham's management company had earlier confirmed he needed treatment two hours after he suffered the injury.

In a statement the SFX spokesman said: "David did not want stitches at first, but two hours after the game, blood was still dripping from the wound and the club doctor visited David's house and fixed two steri-strips to stop the bleeding."

Ferguson admitted yesterday he had kicked the boot across the United dressing room after the FA Cup defeat by Arsenal, inadvertently hitting Beckham and cutting his head.

Hopes of a full explanation of the incident were raised when it was revealed Ferguson would address the Beckham issue once the formal business of the meeting had been conducted during a press conference at Old Trafford today.

Ferguson answered every question fully and politely, which is not always the case on these occasions, except for one relating to his captain, which was eventually considered and given a brief response.

It was all fairly friendly but at these events, the sting is always in the tail. The final question came and went, interpreted clearly for the benefit of United's Italian visitors.

But when it came, the statement, delivered with a degree of good humour, did little to address the issue.

"I have to stress that in 29 years as a coach whatever has happened in the dressing room has remained sacrosanct," he said.

"There is no way I could ever betray the trust of the players and take anything out of the dressing room no matter whose benefit you think it is in, it never works that way. Loyalty has to be 100%, never any less than that.

"Having said that, there has been a lot of possibility raised over this issue. The only reaction I have to that is that it was a freakish incident.

"If I tried it 100 times or a million times it could not happen again if it did I would have carried on playing.

"Contrary to a lot of reports, David did not have two stitches in his head - he had no stitches. It was a graze which was dealt with by the doctor, there was no problem and we move on. That is all there is to be said for it."

And with that, Ferguson rose and strode away, ignoring the optimistic inquisitor who bellowed 'Have you apologised'.

Given that he will not elaborate further on the aftermath of the furious outburst which followed Saturday's 2-0 FA Cup defeat to Arsenal, a public admission of guilt was hardly likely even if his actions led to the England captain wandering the streets of Manchester with a couple of sticking plasters on his eye.

"Yes, he is fit," Ferguson had previously replied to a question concerning the calf injury which forced him off at the weekend and that, from United's perspective, is likely to be the last comment on the matter for some considerable time.

Yet given the strength of yesterday's comments, the United manager is unlikely to rest until the source of the leak is established.

As well as being 100%, loyalty is a two-way thing and someone, deliberately or otherwise, has betrayed the trust.

The statement may have been made but the inquiry is only just beginning.