Chelsea last night strongly criticised the English Football Association for handing Adrian Mutu a seven-month ban for a failed drug test, calling it "far too lenient" and accusing the governing body of being "weak over the issue of drugs".

Chelsea's sideswipe comes after they sacked Mutu last week for gross misconduct. The club now seem likely to begin legal proceedings to recoup some or all of the £12 million at which the striker is valued in their accounts. They may attempt to claim that amount from the player or the club who next take him on.

Mutu, 25, should be free to resume his career next season. His suspension ends on May 18th, provided he undergoes the required rehabilitation and education and proves clean in the tests which will be administered throughout his ban.

Chelsea feel the FA should have given the Romanian a much harsher punishment as a genuine deterrent. The maximum penalty would have been a two-year suspension.

The club's stance was greeted with dismay inside FA headquarters. Officials there consider the chief executive Peter Kenyon's remarks grossly unfair and the FA reacted by backing the disciplinary panel and stressing its anti-drug commitment, saying it took doping control matters "extremely seriously".

"We conduct more tests than any other sport in the UK and we have been acclaimed for this," it said. "The FA believe that it is important to balance rehabilitation and education with suspension, when appropriate, in cases of players who accept wrongdoing after failing a drugs test. Today's verdict falls into line with guidelines set out by FIFA on doping control matters."

The FA was always expected to give Mutu a ban of about the minimum of six months, partly because he took cocaine rather than a performance-enhancing substance and also because he accepted his guilt and has started rehabilitation.

Moreover, it would have been difficult to ban him for more than the eight months that Rio Ferdinand incurred for missing a test because that would have set a dangerous precedent, effectively offering an incentive for players to miss tests if they feared a positive result. Mark Bosnich was given nine months for testing positive for cocaine but Mutu, unlike the former Chelsea goalkeeper, cooperated with the panel.

Gordon Taylor, the chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association, said: "You would have thought even Chelsea might be glad to have him back on track and carrying on with his career."

However, there is a feeling at Stamford Bridge that Mutu has used the system to escape with the shortest possible ban, admitting his guilt only when it suited him. And according to a leading sports lawyer, their criticism of the FA needs to be seen in context.

"A more severe sentence would help Chelsea in claiming compensation for the millions they have spent on this player, because their loss is greater because the matter is a serious one," said Ian Blackshaw. "Their claim would be greater because they had to let this player go because of his misconduct."

He added that Mutu could sue Chelsea for unfair dismissal, using the seven-month ban as evidence that his conduct was not a serious breach of his employment contract.

Elsewhere, Manchester United yesterday ended the uncertainty over Wes Brown's future at the club by announcing the defender has agreed a new four-year contract.

Brown's current deal was due to run out in the summer, and several other clubs had shown interest in signing the 25-year-old after contract talks with United initially broke down over his wage demands.

At one stage it even seemed Brown was on his way out of Old Trafford, manager Alex Ferguson accusing the player's new agent of "filling his head with nonsense".

The defender would have been able to talk to other clubs from January 1st. But a deal to keep him at the club until June 2008 has been salvaged, leaving Ferguson jubilant at keeping a player he "couldn't bear to lose".

Ferguson said: "We are all delighted by the news. Over the last few weeks there has been a great deal of uncertainty.

"I have known Wes since he was 13 years old and have watched and seen him grow into a splendid young man. I couldn't bear to lose him; I didn't want to lose him. I am thrilled that Wes has decided to commit his future here and I hope that he will enjoy his career at Manchester United."

Brown's club captain Roy Keane has been officially confirmed as one of the greats with his induction into the Hall of Fame of Britain's National Football Museum. Keane was one of eight present and former players to be inducted along with Alan Shearer, Wilf Mannion, Billy Bremner, Geoff Hurst, Viv Anderson, Tony Adams and Sue Lopez.

The Scottish Football Association has appointed Tommy Burns as provisional caretaker manager for Scotland's friendly against Sweden on November 17th.

The former Celtic player and manager was assistant to Berti Vogts before the German quit as Scotland boss on Monday.