'My reaction was silly. I've apologised to the manager'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Francis Jeffers apologised to his Arsenal team-mates for the "silly reaction" which got him sent off during Manchester United's Community Shield victory yesterday.
Jeffers, a second-half substitute for Dennis Bergkamp, petulantly kicked out at Phil Neville after a strong 74th-minute challenge from the United full-back. The referee, Steve Bennett, had no option but to show him the red card and afterwards the former Everton striker acknowledged his guilt.
"It was a foul initiated by Phil Neville. My reaction was silly and I've apologised to the manager and my team-mates," said Jeffers. Ashley Cole and Sol Campbell might also have found themselves in trouble on another day, after lashing out at Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Eric Djemba-Djemba respectively. Wenger's reaction? "The incidents were on the other side of the pitch."
Mikael Silvestre, who won the man-of-the-match award for a commanding performance at centre half, said United's defence had faith in their new goalkeeper, Tim Howard.
"We were confident in him and he was really good on his line," Silvestre said. The Frenchman felt Howard had looked the more impressive of the two new keepers on show, adding: "We may have had an advantage there today."
The United manager Sir Alex Ferguson concurred, saying: "Tim's temperament is fine. It is never a problem. He enjoyed facing those penalty kicks."
Asked if United were missing David Beckham and Juan Sebastian Veron, Silvestre said: "Seba and Becks were very good on free-kicks and now we will have to work on those."
Wenger declared himself reasonably satisfied. "It was a good workout and I'm quite happy and confident for the future," he said. "We were solid and, as long as we had the legs, we were quite strong."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments