FIGHT THE POWER

The three-match suspension reluctantly accepted by Wayne Rooney and
Manchester United last night has highlighted flaws in the FA's revamped
disciplinary process. Although the system is much improved, and notably quicker, than a couple of seasons ago, Sir Alex Ferguson was entitled to wonder how Rooney's harmless hand-off could be categorised with an over-the-top tackle.

The issue provoked Ferguson into a raging fury earlier this week. He was still
seething over the FA's treatment of his England striker yesterday, but put his
case so sensibly that even Arsenal and Chelsea fans should have some
sympathy.

"Even his (Rooney's) severest critic would have to say that it is terribly unfair to be done for violent conduct," the United manager said. "Every man and his dog could see that was not a violent conduct charge. It may have been a bit silly of the boy to put his hand in (Tal Ben Haim's) face but he never swung a fist, he just pushed him away because everybody is giving him a bit of verbals. Violent conduct more or less kills you.

"We know he shouldn't raise his hand and I've spoken to him about that. But the profile he gets is unusual for a 19-year-old, so therefore we have got to get him to act like a 30-year-old, even though he is still 19. Unfortunately, you can't put the clock forward for a boy of 19, but he is going to have to accept the responsibility of being the most talked about player in Britain. This is a definite lesson for him.

"You've got to channel aggression. But forwards are explosive players anyway and you don't want them to lose that explosive nature from their make-up. Even Pelé had that. The great players show that spark. Maradona got sent off in a World Cup. If you take that devil out of them, if you take that heart out of them, you don't have the same player."

In accepting the charge, United acknowledged that they would have had no
chance of overturning the three-match ban at a hearing tomorrow. Ferguson was also highly critical of a system that does not allow the player to attend the disciplinary commission or appeal against the sentence.

"The central issue is not that we could do without losing Rooney, but what can you do with this system," he said. "It seems to be a bit immoral in that you are denying a person their rights. You can submit something (in writing) but you are not there to be represented and I don't understand that. Obviously we feel that United get assessed differently."

Mostly, the FA's new streamlined system has worked and the flaw in this case is not the process but the catch-all charge of violent conduct. If Dermot Gallagher, the referee for the victory over Bolton Wanderers on Sunday, had seen Rooney push Ben Haim, he may have only cautioned the striker. A three-match ban is unduly harsh — the same penalty is applied for swinging an elbow.

Ferguson also claimed that United were suffering because they were on
television more than any other side. "Unless they have a system where they
watch a video of every game played in the Premiership, assessed properly, then it's not a fair system," he argued. "And they say they can't afford to do that, according to David Gill (the United chief executive)."