Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson claims the club has become a target for "unfair" treatment by England's Football Association (FA) after the stiff penalty handed down to midfielder Roy Keane.
Keane was handed a five-match ban and £150,000 pound fine by FA bosses for comments in his controversial autobiography in midweek.
The FA ruled that Keane, who describes in the book how he deliberately set out to injure Manchester City player Alf-Inge Haaland in April 2001, had sought to profit financially from the tackle.
However Ferguson, speaking for the first time since the sanctions and citing two cases of elbowing by players from different clubs, said the FA was sending out confusing messages about its punishment policy.
"It's difficult to say when justice is done and what is fair and what is not fair," Ferguson said.
"There were two players up (appearing) on elbow charges at the end of last season who were let off. What's more serious? Writing a book or elbowing a guy in the eyeball."
Ferguson was referring to Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira, who escaped the wrath of the FA for an elbow on Chelsea forward Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.
Leeds forward Mark Viduka was also cleared of elbowing Arsenal defender Martin Keown, who had served a three-match ban for elbowing the big Australian international in May 2001.
Ferguson said he fully supports Keane's right to "tell the truth" in his autobiography, and claimed that United are simply victims of their own success.
"I think everyone has an opinion, there is always a debate and sometimes you will feel it is unfair and maybe feel victimised at times.
"With the Eric Cantona situation a few years ago what the FA did to us was a disgrace."
Cantona was banned until the end of the season by United when the French forward kicked a Crystal Palace fan during a match in 1995, only for the FA to extend the ban by a further two months into the new season.
He added: "The public exposure of a football club like Manchester United means that we are going to be more severely treated than any other club.
"We are quite aware of this and it is something we have to accept because I suppose there is nothing we can really do about it."
It remains to be seen if Haaland, who has not played a full match since the horror tackle, will go ahead with intended legal proceedings against Keane.
Ferguson said Keane has recovered from a recent hip operation and is likely to return for a Champions League match against Bayer Leverkusen on November 13th.
AFP