Evra Ban Shocks Sir Alex

Sir Alex Ferguson says he is stunned at the punishment handed to Patrice Evra for his part in the post-match fracas at Chelsea last season.

The Manchester United defender received a four-game ban and was fined £15,000 after the Football Association found him guilty of improper conduct.

"Of all the things the FA have done to us down the years that was one of their biggest," Ferguson said.

"I couldn't believe it. You could never tell what these people are doing."

Evra will miss United's Premier League games against Stoke and Middlesbrough, FA Cup third-round tie against Southampton and Carling Cup semi-final first leg against Derby.

The 27-year-old Frenchman is also out of Saturday's trip to Tottenham because of an existing suspension.

He would be free to return for the visit of Chelsea to Old Trafford on 11 January.

Ferguson added: "Even if I was sitting having breakfast with them I would not know what they were thinking.

"But we are still waiting for the written reasons to be delivered to (United chief executive) David Gill so we cannot really comment on what our next step will be."

A United statement had called the ban, which starts on 22 December, "excessive" and hinted they may appeal.

Chelsea were fined £25,000 for failing to ensure an employee conducted himself in an orderly fashion at Stamford Bridge.

The FA said charges that groundsman Sam Bethell had used racially abusive language towards Evra after the match could not be proven.

Evra and his team-mates were asked to move while warming down, sparking the row after last season's 2-1 league defeat in April.

Evra, Gary Neville, Park Ji-Sung, Danny Wellbeck, John O'Shea and Paul Scholes - who did not feature in the match - were running on the field in a warm-down about 30 minutes after the final whistle when the trouble broke out.

The Frenchman and Bethell were pictured having a confrontation following the incident, with Bethell raising a fist towards Evra while being held back by two Chelsea staff members.

The FA said Evra had struck Bethell on the side of the head, and that the player admitted to pushing a different groundsman with his chest.