SOCCER NEWS: Ryan Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo flew out of London in unrepentant mood last night after being found guilty of improper conduct by an FA disciplinary commission.
The duo were fined £7,500 and £4,000 respectively for their part in the ugly scenes which followed the 0-0 draw with Arsenal in September.
However, club solicitor and director Maurice Watkins, who along with manager Alex Ferguson accompanied the players to the hearing, confirmed they will "sleep" on the possibility of an appeal because, despite the relatively small fines, the pair feel they have been unjustly treated.
"The feeling is that if a similar situation occurred again - and hopefully it won't - they would do exactly the same thing," Watkins told BBC Radio Five Live.
"They both believed they found themselves in that situation through no fault of their own and all they were doing was protecting a team-mate in the face of extreme provocation.
"They were very well placed to see what was going on and they became embroiled in a situation which was not of their making.
"Ryan Giggs, for one, has an exemplary disciplinary record. In 11 years in the Premiership, he has never been sent off, never been the subject of any disciplinary hearing and received only 16 yellow cards. He would not get into any situation like that lightly."
It is likely to be a couple of days before the pair decide whether to appeal, and there is a feeling within Old Trafford that the FA felt they had to be seen to act after handing down a combined nine-match ban to the three Arsenal players - Martin Keown, Lauren and Ray Parlour - who attacked Ruud van Nistelrooy after the final whistle.
United's anger at yesterday's verdict does not bode well for Rio Ferdinand's hearing into his failure to take a drugs test, which has been set for December 18th at Bolton's Reebok Stadium.
With yesterday's straightforward hearing dragging on for almost five hours, it is hardly surprising that the FA have earmarked two days to hear the case against the £29.3 million defender, who claims he merely forgot to attend the mandatory test.
Ferdinand is facing a maximum two-year ban for the offence and the sporting world will eagerly await the outcome of the case.
The complex arguments took a further twist this weekend when FIFA president Sepp Blatter claimed Ferdinand should not even be playing until the hearing was completed and said United should lose all the points they have gained while the 24-year-old has still been in the side.
Blatter's comments brought a swift rebuke from United chief executive David Gill, who said his club were just operating to current FA regulations.
However, rather than take a confrontational approach, Gill yesterday stressed his willingness to work with the FA as they seek to overhaul their entire disciplinary process.
"Frankly, it is an incomprehensible statement by Sepp Blatter," said Gill. "He is entitled to his opinion, but we are not worried by his comments because the FA have said we are entitled to play Rio under the current rules.
"You can't retrospectively change those rules. I don't believe anyone would think that was fair."
Finally, Gill also unveiled a new £36 million, four-year sponsorship agreement with telecommunications giant Vodafone.
Market analysts have estimated the tie-up with Vodafone is the third most valuable shirt sponsorship in Europe, behind those of Juventus and Bayern Munich.
It highlights one of the reasons why the club's share price has risen by over 150 per cent in the past 12 months, a surge which has attracted speculation of a takeover bid.
