Phil Neville has jumped to the defence of Ruud van Nistelrooy amid claims from the Highbury camp that the Dutchman cheated and dived against Arsenal on Sunday.
Apart from the fact that Ruud simply did not dive before Vieira was sent off, Phil has moved to dispel any idea that Ruud attempted to provoke the Arsenal players.
" There are some people in the game who do try and provoke others but Ruud is not one of them and every player at every other club knows it,´´ said Phil Neville. " Obviously Arsenal were aggrieved with the referee´s decisions but you have to abide by them."
Arsenal are likely to be in hot water after a posse of Gunners players - Keown, Parlour and Lauren the main culprits - pushed van Nistelrooy after Steve Bennett had blown the final whistle.
Moments earlier Ruud had missed the opportunity to hand United a late, late victory when he hit the bar from a penalty.
But nobody in the United dressing room is blaming Ruud for not making it three points instead of one.
" We will let them talk, we will just get on with our football and in that sense, nobody at this club will be blaming Ruud for the fact we didn´t win the game, he has bailed us out far too often for that," Phil added.
The FA are expected to make an announcement today on the action they intend to take after tempers flared following the 0-0 draw. But blame is an accusation not being directed at Ruud van Nistelrooy - from the United dressing room at least.