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Arsenal chairman admits 'stupid behaviour'

September 23, 2003 15:22 IST

Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood has criticised the behaviour of his players during Sunday's ill-tempered 0-0 draw at Manchester United.

"There are no excuses. We were guilty of stupid behaviour," Hill-Wood told the Sun newspaper on Tuesday. "The players concerned were rather silly when you would hope they would show more intelligence.

"What makes matters worse is the fact it was senior players who were involved, experienced professionals who have played more than enough games to know not to react like that. All I can say in our defence is we are not a dirty side and nobody was hurt."

England's Football Association said on Monday it would be urgently reviewing the match report of referee Steve Bennett and video evidence following the ugly scenes involving Arsenal players at Old Trafford.

The London club look set for disciplinary trouble after the premier league game turned sour in the wake of a red card for their French captain Patrick Vieira.

Arsenal defender Martin Keown jumped into United's Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, who was also jostled by several Arsenal players at the final whistle.

Van Nistelrooy, who had just missed a stoppage-time penalty, was a target after his tangle with Vieira led to the red card -- prompting Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger to later accuse the Dutchman of cheating.

French newspaper L'Equipe reported on Monday there had also been a heated exchange between Vieira and van Nistelrooy in the players' tunnel after the match.


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