Manchester United captain Roy Keane was today charged with bringing the game into disrepute following the release of his controversial autobiography.
Keane could face a lengthy ban if found guilty of either of the two disrepute charges imposed by the Football Association are upheld.
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The FA charges follow the release of Roy Keane's autobiography
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That said, any ban is set to be swallowed after having undergone surgery on his hip yesterday. An operation which will sideline him for around six weeks.
The FA charges follow the release of Keane's autobiography, in which he appeared to admit having deliberately embarked on a revenge tackle on Manchester City's Alf-Inge Haaland.
The notorious book follows on from his savage attack on Republic of Ireland boss Mick McCarthy and the team's preparations which meant he ended up watching the World Cup on television rather than playing in it.
But it has also brought him possible law suits after Haaland, Manchester City and, most recently, Linfield Football Club, were alerted by passages contained in his autobiography.
Despite all that, and despite fining his captain an estimated £150,000 for elbowing Sunderland's Jason McAteer last Saturday, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson would not have Keane any other way.
Ferguson sees his captain as his enforcer in the United dressing room. If United's standards slip - as they did last season - then Ferguson knows he can rely on Keane to tell his team-mates to pull up their socks, euphemistically speaking.
In his autobiography he claims too many of his United team-mates are consumed by their passion for "Rolexes, cars and mansions" when they should be concentrating on winning trophies.
Keane insists he does not say things just for effect. He claims he merely tells it as he sees it and if that upsets anyone, then tough.
Either way, Keane will be forced to take a step back and reassess his position in the game in the wake of such unrelenting controversy - and then no doubt return with the same fire in his belly.
Both charges relate to the Haaland incident and Keane has 14 days in which to respond.
PA