Bastian To Contest FA Charge

Bastian Schweinsteiger will contest his FA violent conduct charge for an alleged elbow on West Ham defender Winston Reid, PA understands.

Schweinsteiger appeared to stick out his left arm and catch Reid in the throat as both players jostled for position in the build-up to a first-half free-kick during Saturday's goalless draw at Old Trafford.

Referee Mark Clattenburg spoke to both players to calm them down, but did not see the apparent elbow and it was therefore not mentioned in his post-match report.

That left the FA free to punish the midfielder retrospectively and the 31-year-old is facing a three-match ban if found guilty.

Already hampered by a lengthy injury list, United can ill afford to lose the influential player for their next three league games, which are against Bournemouth, Norwich and Stoke.

Schweinsteiger was prevented from speaking about the incident at United's pre-match press conference in Wolfsburg on Monday evening.

However, Reid insisted on Saturday that the elbow was intentional and the German should have been sent off.

"He knows what he's done - he's elbowed me in the face," Reid said after the game.

West Ham manager Slaven Bilic agreed with his defender, adding: "It's a clear red card. A straight red without any doubts. It was a moment of madness. He deserved to be sent off, but the referee told me he didn't see it. Fair enough, I believe it. It was an elbow."

Credit: Skysports.com