News: Manchester United intend to appeal against any ban Rio Ferdinand is required to serve if, as seems inevitable, the English Football Association impose an official charge of misconduct against him this week for his failure to attend an anti-doping test.
United's lawyers anticipate the England defender will receive a fine after he made a provisional plea of guilty during a three-hour interview with the FA's compliance officer Steve Barrow at the PFA's Manchester headquarters yesterday.
Ferdinand's legal team made it clear they will contest any suspension, citing the case of Manchester City's French midfielder Christian Negouai who forgot a drugs test last season and received a £2,000 fine and a warning.
If the FA decide to take more draconian measures against Ferdinand it will provoke a strong response from United, but the club were encouraged by the way the initial hearing went and are optimistic talk of a suspension will be hypothetical.
Accompanied by Gordon Taylor, the PFA chief executive, Ferdinand accepted his guilt in apparently forgetting to take the test but insisted it had been an innocent mistake.
In a statement, he said: "My explanation dealt with a number of issues including the reasons why I failed to attend the test and my attempts to rectify the situation with a test that same day. I also reiterated my condemnation of drugs in sport."
He was told those factors will be taken into mitigation, but it will not save him from disciplinary action once the FA has typed up the interview and sent a copy to United.
Ferdinand said he had given a "full and detailed explanation" and Taylor added he expected a decision "within days". He said: "You could argue Rio has been punished already. He's been castigated all over the front pages and as soon as he was dropped from the England squad it was inevitable his name would be made public."
The FA declined to comment while it assesses Ferdinand's remarks but there are two possible charges, failure to attend an anti-doping test, or wilful failure to attend an anti-doping test. The second charge is far more serious and would carry a definite ban, but the FA would need to prove Ferdinand was lying. Although unimpressed with his version of events, there is no suggestion at Soho Square Ferdinand is not telling the truth, so it is unlikely that charge would stick.
The FA last night granted Arsenal and Manchester United another 24 hours to formulate their response to violent behaviour and misconduct charges emanating from the Premiership fixture between the clubs at Old Trafford on September 21st.
Chelsea defenders Marcel Desailly and William Gallas may be fit for tonight's Premiership game at Birmingham after injuries kept them out of international action. Gallas is recovering from a shin injury and Desailly has a back problem.
Gerard Houllier has dismissed rumours that Michael Owen is out of the game for six weeks. Owen misses tomorrow's UEFA Cup tie against Ljubljana, but his target is Saturday's game at Portsmouth.
"I've heard the rumours that Michael will be out for a long time," said Houllier, "but they are not true. He is not having an amputation."
