The FA has confirmed that Patrick Vieira should be able to play in the opening game of the season.
French midfielder should be able to face Spurs
The Football Association has stated that Patrick Vieira should be able to play in the opening game of the Premier League season.
The 34-year-old was sent off for an apparent elbow on former Inter Milan team-mate Marco Materazzi in Manchester City's 3-0 defeat by the Nerazzurri at the weekend.
Despite the match being a friendly, some reports suggested that the Frenchman would receive a ban for his dismissal and not play against Tottenham at White Hart Lane, but the FA has confirmed that this is unlikely.
"If a player gets a red card in a friendly he gets a ban for his next friendly, not for competitive matches," said an FA spokesman.
"If it is overseas, it is dependent on it being reported to us by the host FA.
"In general terms, we retain the right to charge players in the most serious of misconduct cases and make sanctions applicable to competitive first-team fixtures if it is felt necessary."
Harsh
The spokesman indicated the incident involving Vieira was not viewed as being such a case.
Rafa Benitez's Inter side ran out comfortable 3-0 winners after Vieira departed the field, with Victor Obinna opening the scoring via a deflection off Micah Richards, an own goal from Joleon Lescott doubling the Nerazzurri's lead and Cristiano Biraghi sealing matters.
City assistant manager Brian Kidd felt the decision to send Vieira off was harsh, saying: "Patrick has gone for the ball.
"He genuinely didn't see the player. There was no intent there. Hopefully people will realise that it wasn't a genuine foul."
