Premiership: Neville to fight FA ban

Manchester United defender Gary Neville is to appeal against his two-match ban.

Neville was charged by the Football Association following his abusive comments to the referee's assistant after the FA Cup defeat to West Ham at Old Trafford in January.

The England international was also fined £30,000.

Lawyer Scott Duxbury said: "We are extremely shocked by the severity of this punishment and think it is totally out of line with other recent high-profile cases.

"Not least when Patrick Vieira received a one-match ban after being charged with violent conduct for kicking Olivier Dacourt in the head.

"Gary is very unhappy and we are appealing because we do not believe this is a fair outcome."

Should Neville fail in his appeal against the ban which is due to start in a fortnight's time, he would miss United's Premiership games against Liverpool and Charlton.