Haaland won't be asked to defend Roy

ALFIE HAALAND will not be appearing at the Reebok Stadium today to speak in defence of Man United captain Roy Keane.

Bizarrely, it had been suggested Haaland would be called as one of Keane's chief witnesses as he attempts to stave off two FA disciplinary charges relating to comments made about the Norwegian in his recently-released autobiography.

However, it is understood there was never any intention within the Keane camp to make the most of comments made by Haaland on his website that the Irishman was not to blame for the injury which has prevented him playing a full game since the infamous clash between the pair at Old Trafford in April last year.

Instead, it is thought Keane will attempt to defend himself against the dual charge by claiming he has never deliberately set out to injure any player, despite comments to the contrary in his book.

A three-man panel, likely to be chaired by FA disciplinary committee chief Barry Bright, will hear evidence from both sides before reaching their verdict.

It is believed the case will be concluded today but with prominent QCs acting for both sides, it may over-run.

Even then, it might not be the end of the matter, with Keane having the fall-back of an appeal should the verdict go against him. He faces a lengthy ban up to eight matches plus a hefty fine should his defence fail.

He is charged on two counts of bringing the game into disrepute, first for making an 'improperly motivated' tackle on Haaland and also cashing in on the tackle through his best-selling life story.

The day after the book's release, Keane continued to defend himself, He said: ''There would have been no point if all I was going to say was 'he's a jolly good fellow' or 'this was an accident'.

''I have read plenty of books and a lot of them were rubbish I wanted to be up front.''

While offering their wholehearted backing to Keane, the Old Trafford hierarchy has since watered down its support and have now actively set out to discourage members of their squad, including management, from bringing out books in the future.

There were calls for the FA to delay today's hearing until such time as Keane was fit to serve any penalty.

However, the Irishman's imminent return to training means that if he cannot convince the panel of his

innocence, the likely ban would extend beyond his recovery time.