FA await title rivals' statements April 28 2008
Chelsea and Manchester United have been asked to supply the Football Association with statements relating to the post-match scuffle between players and staff at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
United have already sent a report to the FA, but there is unlikely to be an early conclusion to the investigation as both clubs are involved in UEFA Champions League matches this week.
In the meantime, the governing body are continuing to seek out all available footage of the incident which was captured by Stamford Bridge CCTV cameras.
The Blues were expecting the FA to request a copy of the film later on Monday but allegations the row had been sparked by racist remarks were being played down by the two clubs.
It was alleged that a racist comment aimed at Red Devils defender Patrice Evra was at the centre of the fight which involved up to 30 people.
But a telephone conversation between chief executives Peter Kenyon, currently in India, and David Gill, forced United to distance themselves from the allegations.
Kenyon is believed to have called Gill the moment he learned that the Premier League leaders were claiming racist taunts had been the reason for the astonishing scuffle.
The Old Trafford outfit asked Evra for his account of the incident as part of their report to the FA.
The unsavoury fracas involved six of United's players, Chelsea ground staff and several match day stewards. The players could find themselves facing disciplinary action from the FA once they have studied the film.
Evra, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, John O'Shea, Park Ji-Sung and Gerard Pique were asked to run up and down the pitch instead of across it.
But tempers flared when Neville insisted on their right to warm-down and a scuffle broke out.
Evra is alleged to have thrown a punch at the groundsman who had asked the players to run in the same direction as lawn mowers being used to trim the playing surface.