Under-fire Manchester United captain Roy Keane has been charged with two counts of bringing the game into disrepute by the English Football Association.

Both charges relate to his now infamous clash with Manchester City’s Alf Inge Haaland in April 2000. Keane admitted in his recently-published autobiography that his attack on Haaland was premeditated.

The player’s admission provoked a welter of criticism with Haaland and Manchester City threatening to sue and the FA launching an investigation into Keane’s remarks.

Keane has rarely been out of the headllines in recent months. He stormed out of the Republic of Ireland World Cup camp on the eve of the World Cup and the controversy caused by the publication of his autobiography, has yet to subside.

An eventful start to the season, took a turn for the worst last Saturday when Keane was sent-off for elbowing Jason McAteer during Manchester Unitred’s clash with Sunderland. Tocompound a miserable period, Keane has now been admitted to hospital to undergo an operation on a troublesome hip injury.

He faces a lengthy ban if found guilty of either charge and has 14 days to respond.