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Uefa have thrown out a complaint by Lille about the validity of Manchester United's winning goal in the sides' Champions League match and have charged the French club's players with improper conduct.
Lille players threatened to walk off the pitch after Ryan Giggs scored from a quickly-taken free-kick in their first-leg in Lens on Tuesday. The French club claimed the referee should not have let the goal stand, even though Giggs was seen to ask permission to take it. They also asked for the game to be replayed.
Uefa said in a statement: "Having examined the official referee's report, the television evidence at hand as well as the laws of the game, the Uefa control and disciplinary body decided to reject the protest, as there was no proof of a technical error.
"As a result, the body declared that the goal was perfectly valid. Furthermore, the control and disciplinary body decided to instigate proceedings against Lille for the improper behaviour of their players immediately after the goal. "
Lille have the right of appeal and the charge is likely to be dealt with by the same disciplinary hearing that will handle allegations that the French club breached security and safety regulations and that Lille and United supporters were guilty of improper conduct.
United believe a tragedy was only narrowly averted after supporters became crushed into a section of the Stade Felix-Bollaert in Lens. Lille have pointed the finger at United, claiming their early distribution of tickets allowed high-quality fakes to be produced, while Damien Vanoise, the head of security at the stadium, has accused United fans of sparking the problems by "violent behaviour".
United will answer the allegations in a report to Uefa. It is understood United will tell Uefa the poor quality of the tickets allowed forgeries to be made easily, and will provide a dossier of evidence from fans about the incidents in the stadium.
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accordingto my exprience since i started watching soccer that was a clear goal for man united
katikky, ondangwa, namibia
if you are genuinely interested in getting a first hand view of what kind of behaviour supporters who did nothing other than turn up and try to gain entrance with tickets obtained direct from MUFC were subjected to by the forces of law and order???? read Fergus's first hand account on Red news.co.uk.
IF it's acceptable in France for police to attack people with tear gas and batons without any provocation whatsoever we should be asking whether they are a fit country to be in the EU nevermind whether Lille should be in the European Cup!!
richard robinson, Manchester,
Lille was robbed . Second leg should be fun.
Daniel, Vannes, France