Ceasefire agreed, but is the war over?

English Premiership: Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger have effectively been gagged by their clubs after agreeing to call a truce and end the increasingly acrimonious mud-slinging between Manchester United and Arsenal.

If either manager breaks the agreement he will face immediate sanctions from the English Football Association.

Though everyone concerned has abandoned hope that Ferguson and Wenger will ever regard each other as anything but mortal enemies, the ceasefire will be of intense relief to not only the FA and Premiership referees, but the Metropolitan Police.

Their criticism of the managers for stoking up the tensions before United's visit to Highbury in 11 days is understood to have played a major part in the public show of conciliation.

Ferguson - whose description of Wenger as "a disgrace" precipitated the latest barrage of insults - has such a powerful influence at Old Trafford there is no way the United chief executive David Gill would dare instruct him to remain quiet.

However, Gill did suggest to Ferguson politely that he followed Clement Attlee's advice in 1945 to Harold Laski, the Labour Party chairman, that "a period of silence on your part would be welcome".

Ferguson had intended to get under Wenger's skin and, the mission accomplished, he assured Gill he would back off.

David Dein, Arsenal's vice-chairman, made similar overtures during a private discussion with Wenger. The Arsenal camp believe Ferguson should shoulder the majority of the blame, but Wenger has pledged not to react to any provocation in the future. Having previously said he would never answer another question about "that man" - a promise he broke in 24 hours - he will now be expected to be true to his word.

Gill and Dein relayed these messages to Richard Scudamore, chief executive of the Premier League, yesterday. Scudamore then released a carefully worded statement approved by both clubs: "The (Premier League) board welcomes the fact that both David Dein and David Gill arrived at the meeting having already received assurances from their managers that public comments on recent issues between them would cease."

Ferguson and Wenger will now restrict their comments to analysing on-field action and have agreed not to discuss each other at all - or not in derogatory terms. Both clubs agreed that public comments will now be limited to pre-match and post-match analysis of the forthcoming fixture.

"The board is keen to stress that its concern related to the personal nature of recent exchanges. We would not seek to restrict the huge interest generated for one of the season's most attractive fixtures."

The statement does not say categorically that the truce is expected to be permanent, but it is a start and, for that alone, the authorities can feel they have made headway.

Brian Barwick, the FA's incoming chief executive, will be particularly relieved that the matter appears to have been resolved before he takes up his post on Monday week, the day before the match.

Although the FA would have been entitled to charge Ferguson and Wenger with persistently bringing the game into disrepute, it will now rely on the cessation of hostilities lasting longer than it has in the past. If not, high-ranking officials at Soho Square believe there are grounds for stringent action against both managers.

Keith Hackett, in charge of English Premiership referees, welcomed the announcement. He is acutely aware that sniping between managers leads to problems involving their players.

A flashpoint is almost guaranteed whenever Arsenal and United meet and Hackett believes the two have exacerbated the situation by attacking each other through the media. "The public debate they have been having is not good for football," he said.

The FA will agree with that, although such is the malevolence between Old Trafford and Highbury - two clubs who once regarded each other as friends as well as rivals - there is no guarantee their managers will stay quiet for long.

Guardian Service