Keane to challenge disrepute accusations

Roy Keane will tell the Football Association this week that he plans to contest the disrepute charges which have been levelled over his autobiography. Official documents will be handed in this week, well ahead of the 18 September deadline.

The 31-year-old former Republic of Ireland captain is recovering from a hip operation but would have been due to start a three-match ban at the weekend following his recent dismissal against Sunderland. Last week Keane learned that he would face two FA charges over allegations that he deliberately set out to injure the Manchester City midfielder Alf Inge Haaland at Old Trafford in May 2001.

By contesting the charges, Keane knows he risks putting his hearing back to a point when he is approaching fitness. However, he believes he should not be punished for what he has described as an "honest" account of his career.

Maccabi Haifa's Nigerian import Yakubu Ayegbini will miss his side's Champions' League game with Manchester United next Wednesday through suspension. Uefa, European football's ruling body, has rejected an appeal after Ayegbini was sent off during the third qualifying round tie against Sturm Graz.

The Arsenal manager, Arsène Wenger, is to give full backing to his captain Patrick Vieira, who faces a misconduct charge on top of a one-match ban after being sent off by referee Andy D'Urso nine days ago.

Video replays showed Vieira had not made contact with Gianfranco Zola when shown the first of two yellow cards at Stamford Bridge. When Vieira received a second yellow in a clash with Jesper Gronkjaer, the Danish winger admitted it was his foot which made contact with Vieira and not the other way around.

"There is no doubt we will appeal – and for two possible reasons," Wenger said. "The first would be that he didn't see it and the second is that it was very harsh to send him off."

Liverpool's Senegalese striker El Hadji Diouf is facing hostility from his compatriots for snubbing his national side. Diouf missed an African Nations' Cup qualifier in Lesotho at the weekend, claiming he was visiting his sick stepfather, but he has been accused of boycotting the match in a protest about the failure to give the former coach Bruno Metsu a new contract.

Diouf – along with his Anfield club-mate Salif Diao – failed to turn up for the game against Lesotho game, which Senegal won 1-0. Now sources in Africa say that he has been sent obscene mail, including some containing excrement.