The Times:
Gary Neville has accused the FA of "riding roughshod" over its regulations after an appeals hearing upheld his £5,000 fine for celebrating in front of Liverpool fans. The Manchester United captain argued that the case should be thrown out because the governing body had failed to adhere to its deadlines.
The FA did not respond to Neville's appeal within the 21-day limit, but yesterday's hearing went ahead anyway, drawing an angry response from the defender.
"I went personally to Soho Square, but it was a waste of time.
"During the commission, the appeals board and the FA's own representative accepted that the FA had failed to meet its own deadlines but decided to carry on with the hearing as normal. As far as I am concerned, that sets a dangerous precedent.
"If the FA, which bases itself on transparency and fairness, does not suffer any consequence for failing to abide by its own rules, then I can only assume that players will be treated the same way in future. I will expect the FA to be fully understanding when players miss deadlines, whether they are for drugs tests or their own appeals."
"If, in the 89th minute of any game at the World Cup finals, I celebrate in the same manner, should I expect to be brought up before Fifa? I imagine the FA and every England fan would say that I was just caught up in the moment. Don't we want passion in the game?
"I accept that the appeals panel were willing to hear all the evidence properly, but the hearing should never have gone ahead in the first place. This was a low-key appeal but it goes to show yet again the inconsistencies and flaws in the FA disciplinary system."