MANCHESTER, Aug 9: Manchester United declared their intention to appeal charges against Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes after the Football Association finally received a referee's report from a pre-season match where both players were dismissed.

Rooney and Scholes were sent off in a friendly against FC Porto during the Amsterdam tournament last week and face three-match bans if charged with violent conduct, as is expected.

The FA was unable to act until after it received the report, submitted by the referee for the match, from the Dutch Federation.

If the charges of violent conduct and serious foul play are not overturned, the pair will miss the trip to Charlton on Aug 23, plus the home encounter with Watford on Aug 26, then, most crucially, the Old Trafford clash against Tottenham on Sept 9.

United have been given until Friday afternoon to lodge an appeal and have privately indicated they will definitely be contesting the charges at a hearing which is likely to be held next Tuesday.

By that time, at least the FA will have been able to fully absorb a massive 23-page document which landed at Soho Square from their Dutch counterparts.

Meanwhile, the deal to bring West Brom goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak to Old Trafford is inching closer.

The Pole was left out of the Baggies' squad at Cardiff last night, with boss Bryan Robson admitting he expected Kuszczak's situation to be clarified within the next 24 hours.

The move will almost certainly signal the departure of young keeper Ben Foster, who played at Oxford on Tuesday night but will now join Watford for a second season-long loan stint.

Foster was a bystander at the Kassam Stadium as Cristiano Ronaldo made his first appearance on English soil since the World Cup.

Predictably, Ronaldo was booed every time he touched the ball, and he can expect a hot reception at most Premiership grounds once the new campaign gets underway later this month.—AFP