London, Sept 23: Football Association chiefs confirmed yesterday they were launching an investigation into last weekend's controversial clash between champions Manchester United and leaders Arsenal at Old Trafford.
Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira was red-carded 10 minutes before the end after retaliating against United striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy.
His dismissal created a heated atmosphere which saw Dutch forward Van Nistelrooy surrounded by several Arsenal players at full-time after a goalless draw Sunday.
France star Vieira's exit led to a post match war of words with Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger labelling Van Nistelrooy a cheat, a claim which incensed United manager Alex Ferguson.
Vieira weighed in with a similar accusation yesterday and according to some reports he had already let Van Nistelrooy know how he felt as the players walked down the tunnel after the game.



In its statement the FA confirmed that it had received referee Steve Bennett's match report. But, in an unusual move, the FA said that as well as reviewing standard video tapes of the game it had "also requested further videos of the various incidents from different camera angles."



The FA's official website, www.thefa.com, added: "the FA will be looking at various aspects of player behaviour during the match and in the scenes following the final whistle and will make a further statement as soon as this process is complete."


Bureau Report