United lawyers study charges against duo

Furious Manchester United will launch a vigorous defence of under-fire duo Ryan Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The pair were both charged by the Football Association today for their part in Sunday’s Old Trafford fracas which overshadowed the 0-0 draw with Arsenal.

While some may argue United have been treated leniently compared to the Gunners, who have six players facing a possible total 21-match ban, club officials do not believe any of their players has a case to answer.

They have already notified their intention to take legal advice and will also involve manager Alex Ferguson in discussions before determining what action to take next.

Like the Arsenal players, Giggs and Ronaldo have 14 days in which to respond to the charges, which both allege improper conduct, in Giggs’ case for ‘a confrontation with Lauren after the final whistle’, in Ronaldo’s for ‘confronting Martin Keown at the conclusion of the match’.

In addition, England international Phil Neville has been warned about his future conduct.

“We have received the details of the charges from the FA and we are currently reviewing them internally with out lawyers, the manager and the players involved,” said a United statement.

“Until that review is completed, the club will be making no further comment.”

Ironically, Giggs finds himself in the dock just 24 hours after branding Arsenal skipper Patrick Vieira ‘stupid’ for getting himself sent off in the incident which sparked all the trouble.

The Welshman believes referee Steve Bennett had little alternative other than to brandish the red card after Vieira aimed a kick at van Nistelrooy even though he did not touch the Dutchman.

It was van Nistelrooy’s dramatic reaction to that incident, then his injury-time penalty miss, which led to Arsenal’s over-the-top reaction to their 0-0 draw, which Giggs admitted will completely overshadow the game.

“It is a shame that over the next week or so, no-one will be talking about the game, just what happened at the end,” he told MUTV.

“Obviously there is a rivalry between the teams but there is respect between the players as well because of what both sides have achieved.

“Unfortunately, no matter how much skill was on show, people will only focus on the last 10 minutes.”

Neither Giggs nor Ronaldo is looking at the lengthy bans which could be imposed on Lauren and Martin Keown, who are facing six charges between them, but Ferguson will be eager to ensure both men escape penalty and do not worsen a growing injury crisis.

United today confirmed that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is facing three months on the sidelines after having surgery to correct articular cartilage damage in his right knee.

The Norwegian struggled with the injury throughout pre-season and, following the pattern of last season, Ferguson decided to send him for surgery in the hope he would be back in action for the second half of the campaign.

“We’ve adopted the same policy as last season, where anything that needs to be done this early we get it done,” Ferguson told the Manchester Evening News.

“It is a blow for us and now the transfer window has closed, there is nothing I can do about it.

“But I do feel we have a good enough squad to cope.”

Ferguson is already without Brazilian World Cup winner Kleberson, who dislocated his shoulder at Newcastle last month, while Paul Scholes is taking tentative steps towards his comeback with a return to training this week.

How the England star comes through his exertions will determine whether he makes the Champions League trip to Stuttgart next week.

If there is no reaction, Scholes will fly to Germany as United look to build on their encouraging 5-0 win over Panathinaikos.

The alternative is a third operation on the problem area, which would rule the 29-year-old out for two months, a period including England’s vital Euro 2004 qualifier with Turkey in Istanbul.

“He has done some training this week but if he feels it again we are going to have to make a decision,” said Ferguson.

“There would be no point in him carrying on, but if he comes through, then we’ll get him into the team right away.

“We have Stuttgart coming along and it would be a great time for him to come back.”