Ex-Man Utd Star Given Six Month Ban After Controversial Guard of Honour

A former Manchester United player has received a six-month ban from football following a controversial guard of honour, as the Red Devils prepare to face Crystal Palace.

United travel to Selhurst Park on Sunday hoping to bounce back from a disappointing 1-0 defeat at home to ten-man Everton.

Although Ruben Amorim's side missed the opportunity to climb into the Champions League places on Monday night, they remain just three points behind Aston Villa in fourth.

United will hope their absence from European competition provides a boost, with Palace having travelled to Strasbourg on Thursday night in the Conference League.

Meanwhile, former United and Chelsea midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron, who is now president of Estudiantes, has been handed a six-month ban by the Argentine Football Association.

Veron and his Estudiantes players were protesting the decision to name Rosario as 'league champion' following a rule change by the Argentine FA last week.

When the Rosario players came out onto the pitch for a Clausura last-16 knockout match on Sunday, the Estudiantes' players turned their backs on them in protest.

Verton has now been given "a six-month suspension from all football-related activities."

Meanwhile, players who are deemed to have "engaged in the reprehensible conduct" will face match suspensions from next season.

What is the controversy?

Argentina's top flight is split into two halves, called the Apertura and Clausura, meaning opening and closing phases.

Both are completed with a knockout stage.

However, earlier this month, the league controversially declared Rosario the "league champion," having accumulated the most points across the Apertura and Clausura phases.

Rosario finished the regular season with a combined 66 points, four more than second place Boca Juniors.

Under previous rules, the team with the highest combined points total only earned a place in the Copa Libertadores, South America's equivalent of the Champions League.

Despite the controversial awarding of the 'league title,' Rosario wasted no time celebrating on social media, writing: "We are the best team of the year."

Platense won the Apertura title earlier this year, while the Clausura is currently at the quarter-final stage.

Veron's Estudiantes defeated Angel di Maria's Rosario in the last 16 and will now face Central Cordoba in the quarter-finals on Saturday.

The final is set for December 13 and it will be followed by a one-off match between the Apetura and Clausura winners to claim the end-of-year Champions Trophy.

Bizarrely, 'league champions' Rosario will have failed to win either the Apertura or Clausura play-offs.