Gunners set for FA charges

Arsenal and up to five of their players face being charged by the Football Association in a major disciplinary crackdown after the disgraceful post-match scenes which marred their draw at Old Trafford.

As one observer put it, however, the incidents were so bad that Roy Keane felt obliged to act as a peacemaker as he led Vieira away after his dismissal.

Manchester United and defender Gary Neville could also find themselves at the centre of the FA investigation which has now been launched into the controversial scenes after the final whistle.

However, it is Arsenal who are set to be the main defendants in the FA dock after video evidence has been reviewed by the governing body.

While the Gunners should escape the same sort of points deduction with which they were hit in 1990 after a melee in the same fixture, they could still receive a hefty six-figure fine if found guilty of failing to control their players.

But the matter is not expected to end there, with the FA poised to look at whether to individually charge up to five Arsenal players for their part in the scuffles which surrounded Ruud van Nistelrooy.

The Dutchman, who angered Arsenal with his reaction to Patrick Vieira’s attempted retaliation as he earned a second yellow card, is not set to be investigated himself.

However, Martin Keown, Ray Parlour and Lauren, who all raced over to harass van Nistelrooy and celebrate in his face, are at risk of receiving FA charges that could lead to suspensions or fines.

The roles of Ashley Cole and Jens Lehmann are also understood to be under review by the FA, with some reports suggesting that Cole may have attempted to throw a punch.

In a worst-case scenario, that could leave Arsenal, who have already claimed there is an FA vendetta against them after Sol Campbell was charged following the Community Shield, with a disciplinary nightmare encompassing their entire defence.

FA head of media Adrian Bevington told the FA’s website, www.theFA.com: “The FA can confirm that we have received the report from referee Steve Bennett, as well as video tapes of the match.

“As a result, the FA will now review the video tapes in detail and as a matter of urgency. The FA have also requested further videos of the various incidents from different camera angles.

“The FA will be looking at various aspects of player behaviour during the match and in the scenes following the final whistle. The FA will make a further statement as soon as this process is complete.”

The FA, who may be in a position to release a further update in the next 24 to 48 hours, may have slightly more difficulty in investigating an alleged tunnel row between Vieira and van Nistelrooy.

Vieira was supposedly talking to Fabien Barthez, Robert Pires and Eric Djemba-Djemba when van Nistelrooy emerged from the home dressing-room and agreed to the Frenchman’s request to speak to him, which he had made 25 minutes earlier.

However, Vieira is reported to have dismissed him with the comment “I have nothing to say to you” and continued talking to the three other players.

According to the Evening Standard, the United striker is said to have responded “you have no class”, and an unidentified eye-witness told the newspaper: “Patrick was really angry when van Nistelrooy said that.

“He went towards him and said he would really make contact this time and van Nistelrooy would know what it is like to be hurt. But he was held back.”

Vieira attempted to play down the significance of any of the ugly post-match scenes as he appealed for referee Bennett to reconsider his second caution for clashing with van Nistelrooy.

Indeed, in an apparent retort to compatriot Mikael Silvestre’s pre-match claim that Arsenal had lost their English backbone, he insisted: “Of course, this country is all about fair play and about spirit.

“We showed the English spirit because Old Trafford is a really hard place to come to and take points. we worked really hard for each other and showed great spirit.

“It was a hard game and everybody was fighting for the ball. You can see some really good challenges but van Nistelrooy just destroyed the game by cheating and by reacting the way he did.”

The Frenchman observed: “There is a big respect between him and myself. I know him really well as a player and he knows me.

“We are competitive players but I would do the same for him. It was about the respect between the two players.”

It is just a crying shame that there was not more respect shown at Old Trafford. Saturday, March 27 is already looming large in the fixture calendar for the return encounter.