THE ENGLISH Football Association will study Mike Dean’s referee’s report today before deciding whether to take disciplinary action against players from Manchester United and Manchester City, following the ugly scenes after Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.
Some United players were incensed after Mario Balotelli approached rival supporters while tugging at the City badge on his shirt; his team-mates had gathered towards the other end of the pitch.
Anderson and Rio Ferdinand reacted furiously and attempted to shove the Italian striker away from the sidelines, prompting the City coach, David Platt, and manager, Roberto Mancini, to intervene.
Ferdinand was further angered when Balotelli winked at him; the United defender then confronted Platt, asking him to “control his players”.
Ferdinand, whose wife Rebecca gave birth to their third child over the weekend, apologised for his part in the ugly scenes via his Twitter account yesterday though he was still critical of Balotelli’s conduct. “If you score a goal and give a bit to opposing fans I kind of accept that, but at the final whistle (you should) go to your own fans and enjoy it, not opposing fans,” the centre half wrote.
“If I offended anyone I apologise. Emotions were obviously running high.”
“He (Balotelli) was showing his badge to our fans,” said Nani. “Anderson just took him out from in front of our fans. Rio was very angry because it is not fair, it was very disrespectful to do that in front of the fans.”
As the incident took place on the pitch, albeit after the final whistle, the FA’s response will lean heavily upon the observations of Dean. The referee could call the confrontation an extraordinary incident or claim not to have witnessed it – both scenarios could invite the FA to investigate.
Platt sought Ferdinand out by the team buses after the game and the pair spoke for three or four minutes, the defender reiterating that the coaching staff should have controlled Balotelli. Platt and Ferdinand left the stadium after shaking hands.
Recently, the FA chose to punish Wayne Rooney retrospectively, after he swore into a television camera on completing a hat-trick against West Ham. The United striker’s two-game ban has been served and he will return for tomorrow’s trip to Newcastle.
Paul Scholes will miss United’s next three matches, including a potentially critical trip to second-placed Arsenal on May 1st, following his dismissal on Saturday. The midfielder’s high, studs-up challenge on Pablo Zabaleta, 19 minutes from time, will prompt a three-match ban for violent conduct that will rule the 36-year-old out of games against Newcastle, Everton and Arsenal.
He had recently returned from a two-match ban that was earned after he collected 10 yellow cards.
“It was a really bad tackle, very high, over the knee,” said Zabaleta. “If it had been any lower my knee would probably be gone.”
Nani summed up the feeling amongst the United squad after their treble bid ended. He said: “We are disappointed but we are experienced enough to forget this and think about the games coming up.”
Guardian Service
