Some sections of seating at Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium will be closed if the club reaches the Champions League semi-finals because of safety concerns, the BBC reported yesterday.

The decision by Trafford Council followed incidents of fans standing up in the all-seater stadium during United's quarter-final first-leg match at home to Bayern Munich.

The council says safety is being compromised by supporters standing when they should be seated. The ban, however, does not apply to Premier League matches.

Denis Irwin should be back in action for United within 10 days. Irwin was stretchered off with a knee injury against Charlton in midweek, prompting speculation that he may not play again this season.

However manager Alex Ferguson claims he will return in the next 10 to 14 days at most.

"I think it will be 10 days," he said. "Denis thinks seven days, but I've spoken to our physio Robert Swire and he thinks 10 days, no more than two weeks."

The Football League have defended a tribunal's decision to recommend Chesterfield are deducted points following criticism from the Professional Footballers' Association.

A Football League disciplinary panel fined the Division Three club £20,000 sterling and recommended a nine-point deduction following a three-day inquiry into their financial affairs.

A league meeting next week is expected to confirm the points deduction.

The tribunal found there had been a breach of regulations concerning the transfer of Luke Beckett and the under-reporting of gate receipts.

The PFA believe Chesterfield should have been hit with just a fine. PFA deputy chief executive Brendon Batson said: "We'd rather see an economic sanction instead of points deducted - the deduction of points hits not just the players, but the supporters too."

If approved, Chesterfield would drop from top of the table down to third, although they would still occupy an automatic promotion place.