Soccer: Rio Ferdinand announced last night that he will begin his eight-month ban on Tuesday, but still plans to fight the English FA's punishment. The Manchester United defender also issued his first public apology and he will see whether it does him any good when a new FA commission, chaired by a QC, considers his official appeal next month.

Ferdinand announced the decision after high-level talks with his legal team, United's directors and his manager Alex Ferguson yesterday. It means his season will effectively be over at 4.45 p.m. at Wolverhampton Wanderers. The next sight of him on a soccer field may not be until September 20th.

Ferdinand's hopes of the sentence being reduced will be decided at a second hearing within the next three weeks.

The dropping of his previously aggressive tone, however, clearly indicates he and his employers have realised that they cannot win in a battle of wills with the FA and its new chief executive Mark Palios.

"I would like to apologise for my oversight in missing my drugs test," he said. "I've previously made it clear that I condemn the use of drugs in any circumstances, but especially in sport, and I intend to continue helping to spread this message during and after any period of suspension I have to serve.

"I want to get playing for Manchester United and England as soon as possible and, if starting the suspension now will help, then I am prepared to suffer it.

"I feel strongly that I have given an honest account of the circumstances that led to my mistake and I believe the verdict and ban are wrong."

His club immediately gave him their support. "While Rio accepts that he missed an unannounced drugs test and has publicly apologised for that, he continues to maintain that he did not miss it deliberately and that he did not have any reason to avoid it," a United statement read.

The severity of the sentence handed out by the three-man panel in Bolton on December 19th surprised most observers, who had been anticipating a three-month ban.

At the time the United director and Ferdinand's legal adviser Maurice Watkins described the punishment as "savage".

By appealing, Ferdinand runs the risk of the FA commission increasing the sentence, something the World Anti-Doping Agency has already said it would like to see happen.

However, this is unprecedented within English soccer and a more likely scenario is that the ban will simply be upheld or there will be a slight adjustment.

The best Ferdinand can hope for is the suspension being reduced to, say, four months, but even then it rules him out for the rest of the season.

"There are lessons to be learned for all of us from this episode," said United's chief executive David Gill.

"Rio recognises that he has made a serious mistake, which is why he will begin the suspension immediately rather than wait for the outcome of the appeals procedure.

"However, after studying the verdict from the commission, we are convinced the player has a strong case to challenge both the verdict and the ban given the player's full explanation to the commission of the circumstances surrounding his failure to take the drugs test."

United will regard Ferdinand's absence as a crucial setback in their bid to retain the league title and regain the European Cup.

But by starting the suspension next week, at least the world's most expensive defender is minimising the risk of missing a large part of next season.