• Carling Cup

FA to look into Gary Neville incident

ESPN staff
January 20, 2010
Gary Neville had an exchange of gestures with Carlos Tevez © Getty Images
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Gary Neville could find himself in hot water with the FA after he appeared to direct a middle-finger gesture towards Carlos Tevez as the Manchester City striker celebrated the first of two goals in his side's 2-1 Carling Cup triumph over Manchester United.

Tevez made a point of celebrating his emphatic 42nd-minute penalty by running towards the United bench while making a speaking motion with his hand and the FA have confirmed they will look at the matter before deciding whether to take any further action.

The City man was perhaps suggesting that he was doing his talking on the pitch rather than in the press as Neville had done in the lead up to the match when he claimed he would not have paid £25 million for the Argentine, or maybe he was just telling his former team-mate to shut his mouth.

Neville, warming up as a substitute, responded with a rude salute that could potentially bring disciplinary punishment from the FA given the warning he received over his provocative celebration in United's derby win in the Premier League in September.

Tevez followed his match-winning second goal with another sprint towards the United bench, this time with hands cupped behind ears. Neville had publicly backed United manager Sir Alex Ferguson's decision not to sign the Argentina international before the tie at Eastlands, perhaps helping to spark Tevez into a shining performance only matched by the heroics of City goalkeeper Shay Given.

Manchester City team-mate and fellow Argentinian Pablo Zabaleta claimed Tevez was determined to prove a point to Neville.

''One Manchester United player talked about Carlos before the game so he showed he is top class, a top player,'' he said. ''He is amazing, everyone knows Carlos is a great player. Everyone loves him. This was a special game for him, one he has been dreaming about. I am aware of his qualities and think he can give a repeat performance against United next week.''

Another incident that may warrant further investigation came when United defender Patrice Evra appeared to be hit by a lighter thrown from the crowd as he collected the ball off the pitch.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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