The Football Association has confirmed that Roy Keane has until Friday to appeal against his five-match ban and £150,000 fine. The Manchester United skipper is technically suspended from today following the double guilty verdict handed down against him on the two disrepute charges he faced at the Reebok Stadium last month.
It had been thought that the deadline for appeal had passed without reply on Friday, with the FA stating on their official website that the ban would take effect from November 4, covering next Saturday's Manchester derby and the crunch clash with Liverpool at Anfield on December 1.
However, Keane's legal representatives immediately claimed they had a letter dated October 25, which confirmed they had another 14 days after that to lodge any protest against the punishment. The 31-year-old is currently recovering from a hip operation, although his recovery has not been as quick as manager Alex Ferguson had hoped for and plans for a Champions League re-appearance against Bayer Leverkusen on November 13 have now been shelved.
It has still not been decided whether Keane will appeal against the ban, which arose after the FA took exception to comments in his autobiography concerning his tackle on Manchester City's Alfie Haaland at Old Trafford in April last year.
Filed by Shane Murray
