Warnock: I don't think FA will punish me
CHRIS LAKEY Neil Warnock has got his timing badly wrong in a controversial account of the V-sign incident at Carrow Road on Saturday.
CHRIS LAKEY
Neil Warnock has got his timing badly wrong in a controversial account of the V-sign incident at Carrow Road on Saturday.
The Sheffield United boss flicked his fingers at Canaries boss Nigel Worthington and the City bench as they celebrated a vital 2-1 victory.
Warnock claimed it was because Worthington had ignored him and then makes some astonishing statements in his defence.
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He claims:
t He won't be apologising to Worthington;
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t He'd do it again; and
t He doesn't think he will be punished by the FA
However, Warnock's gesture was clearly caught by TV cameras, which contradict his claim that he held his hand out to Worthington for some six or seven seconds.
In fact, Warnock looks to have had his hand extended in Worthington's direction for less than TWO seconds.
Warnock, speaking to the Yorkshire Post, freely admitted that Worthington - a former player with his city rivals Sheffield Wednesday and still a firm favourite with the Hillsborough faithful - was the target of his gesture.
His argument is that Worthington was too busy celebrating victory to shake his hand - although they did shake hands seconds after Warnock's finger flick.
Warnock is unrepentant and believes Worthington - who later described the incident as unprofessional and disrespectful - deserved the V-sign.
“I won't deny that I flipped my fingers in his direction, but only because I was so disgusted and frustrated at being humiliated by a fellow manager,” said Warnock. “If the same circumstances arose, I would do the same again.
“I held out my hand for six or seven seconds, but he kept on talking and talking and turned his back. There was no mix-up, he even looked me in the eyes.
“I am sorry if it upset any fans. I had been enjoying good patter with the Norwich supporters all afternoon - there was definitely no offence intended to anyone inside the ground apart from their staff.”
The matter is now with FA's Compliance Unit who will study the video footage of the incident, to charge Warnock with misconduct.
However, the Blades boss is confident there will be no further action.
“When the governing body looks at the incident, I think they will decide to take no action,” he said.
