Ex-PGMOL chief: Man United and Tottenham 'will be charged' as 'thuggery' scenes emerge

Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are likely to face sanctions from the FA after "unaccepable" scenes at Old Trafford.

That is according to former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA referee, Keith Hackett, who exclusively told Football Insider that the footballing authorities won't want those images beamed around the world.

Tensions rose rapidly between the two sets of players on Saturday, 10 October, as Luke Shaw took exception to Rodrigo Bentancur's wild challenge.

The veteran left-back charged over to the Uruguayan, pushing him to the ground rather violently, before Bentancur stood back up to headbutt his opponent.

Rightly so, Spurs' midfielder was shown a straight red card while Shaw only saw yellow, with several others getting involved in the mass confrontation.

Even Michael Carrick could be seen getting involved in the 78th minute, and it is these actions that could land United and Tottenham in hot water.

'The FA will charge both Man United and Tottenham'

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Hackett revealed that he expects the FA to take action after the scenes unfolded at Old Trafford.

"There is no doubt that the FA will charge both teams with failure to control their players. That's the usual approach," he said.

"I don't think there's any level of excuse. The competition expects the right image to be reflected around the world. In a sense, this is thuggery and unacceptable.

"As a fan, we might enjoy it. But the reality is that in a game of football, self-control is part of what you expect from a professional player.

"This is why I sometimes perhaps get annoyed when spectators say there's no passion in the game. think that this reflects the passion."

Michael Carrick fortunate to keep 11 players on the pitch

Roberto De Zerbi will absolutely be disappointed by Bentancur's actions, given that he's one of the most experienced players in the squad.

However, many at Spurs will argue that Luke Shaw also should have been given his marching orders for his role in the ordeal at Old Trafford.

That's how Hackett feels, anyway, who saw the left-back's emotional lash-out as "really aggressive" and "bordering on violent".

Given Shaw's injury history, he had every right to be upset with his opponent's out-of-control challenge, but he was fortunate to avoid a harsher punishment as well.