Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson today accused title rivals Arsenal of delaying the disciplinary hearings of Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira.
"If we win it [the title] we will have done it the right way," Sky Sports reported Ferguson as saying. "Arsenal have been very clever in delaying the hearings for Henry and Vieira".
Henry is due to face an FA disciplinary hearing on Wednesday to answer charges relating to a post-match outburst at referee Graham Poll following Arsenal's 3-1 defeat by Newcastle back on December 18th.
Fellow France international Vieira will be up before the FA on March 14th to explain his part in allegedly elbowing Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink during a Premiership game on December 26th.
Both players could face bans of up to three matches if they are found guilty. But Ferguson said their cases should have been heard long before this month.
"It's amazing that they haven't been brought to book yet. They've been clever because at the time of the incidents they might have got more than a three-match suspension for what they did," the Scot told Sky.
He said: "Had it been a Manchester United player who did what Henry did it would have been Sing Sing [an American prison] for him. But, nearly three months after the event, it's all forgotten.
"They'll say that all he did was argue with the referee. They've delayed it very cleverly but it may come back to haunt them. Sometimes you can be too clever," Ferguson said.
AFP