Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood has criticized the conduct of his players during Sunday's ill-tempered 0-0 draw at Manchester United.

Arsenal's Keown (left) taunts van Nistelrooy after the missed penalty.

"There are no excuses. We were guilty of stupid behavior," Hill-Wood was quoted in English newspapers on Tuesday. "The players concerned were rather silly when you would hope they would show more intelligence."

The English FA said it would review referee Steve Bennett's match report and video evidence before deciding on what action to take.

The London club look set for disciplinary trouble after the premier league game turned sour in the wake of a red card for their French captain Patrick Vieira.

Arsenal defender Martin Keown jumped into United's Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, who was also jostled by several Arsenal players at the final whistle.

Van Nistelrooy, who had just missed a stoppage-time penalty, was a target after his tangle with Vieira led to the red card -- prompting Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger to later accuse the Dutchman of cheating.

Hill-Wood's comments appear to be at odds with his Wenger's post-match defence of his players.

"What makes matters worse is the fact it was senior players who were involved, experienced professionals who have played more than enough games to know not to react like that. All I can say in our defence is we are not a dirty side and nobody was hurt," he added.

French newspaper L'Equipe reported on Monday there had also been a heated exchange between Vieira and van Nistelrooy in the players' tunnel after the match

The Football Association, which has received referee Steve Bennett's report, said it "will now review the video tapes in detail and as a matter of urgency. The FA has also requested further videos of the various incidents from different camera angles.

"The FA will be looking at various aspects of player behavior during the match and in the scenes following the final whistle and will make a further statement as soon as this process is complete."

United manager Alex Ferguson backed his Dutch striker and made it clear he expected the FA to get involved.

"I can defend Ruud van Nistelrooy in this," he said. "As for the behavior at the end of the game, well I think the FA will be looking at that anyway, so I don't need to talk about Arsenal's discipline."

Vieira, who collected Arsenal's 52nd red card under Wenger, said he believed he had been wrongly dismissed and that his club would be appealing against the referee's decision.

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