The
FA have confirmed that Manchester United's Roy Keane
has been charged with two counts of bringing the game
into disrepute.
An
FA statement revealed: "Both charges relate to
an incident with Manchester City's Alf Inge Haaland
during the Manchester United v Manchester City 2000-2001
FA Premier League fixture."
It continued: "The first charge is as a result
of the challenge itself on Haaland, which is alleged
to have been improperly motivated, with an apparent
element of revenge.
"The second charge relates to Roy Keane allegedly
publishing for financial profit or reward, an account
of his autobiography, in which he speaks of a desire
to exact revenge on Haaland, therefore bringing the
game into disrepute."
Keane faces a lengthy ban and a large fine should
he be found guilty on both counts and now has 14 days
to respond to both charges.
Meanwhile, Sir Alex Ferguson expects to have Keane
back playing by October, after the Reds skipper underwent
a hip operation on Tuesday.
United had originally predicted that Keane would be
sidelined for three months following surgery. But
manager Ferguson is now confident that his controversial
midfielder will be back after just six weeks - in
time for the crucial Premiership clashes against title
rivals Liverpool and Arsenal in December.
"He has had the operation," Ferguson said
after United's 1-0 Premiership win over Middlesbrough
on Tuesday. "We expect him to be back in about
six weeks. We thought it was maybe a three-month job,
but hopefully it is going to be six weeks."
The Republic of Ireland man is already facing a three-match
ban for his elbow on Sunderland's Jason McAteer at
The Stadium of Light on Saturday.
