FA seeks evidence after incident following Manchester derby
MANCHESTER, England (AP) - Players and coaches of Manchester United and Manchester City were involved in a melee near the dressing rooms after a Premier League match, sparking an investigation by the Football Association on Monday.
The FA was seeking observations from both clubs about the incident, which took place immediately after City's 2-1 win at Old Trafford on Sunday. The governing body could also request CCTV footage.
The match referee, Michael Oliver, didn't include the incident in his post-game report.
A person with knowledge of the situation said about 15 people were involved in a melee around the doorway to the visitors' dressing room, where loud music was playing, and that City assistant coach Mikel Arteta sustained a cut on his forehead. The person didn't see any punches thrown.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss dressing-room incidents.
The incident took place in the tunnel at Old Trafford, where police officers and stewards are located.
It revived memories of an incident that took place in the tunnel at Old Trafford in October 2004 following United's 2-0 win over Arsenal, a result that ended Arsenal's 49-match unbeaten run in the league.
Cesc Fabregas, who played for Arsenal at the time, recently admitted to throwing pizza at then-United manager Alex Ferguson in a fracas that was later dubbed the "Battle of the Buffet."
There will be no footage of Sunday's incident in City's behind-the-scenes documentary being produced by Amazon Prime, which is charting the team's second season under coach Pep Guardiola and is scheduled to be broadcast next autumn.
United rejected City's request to allow cameras in the dressing room for the documentary.
___
Steve Douglas is at www.twitter.com/sdouglas80