London - Findings of a Football Association inquiry published on Thursday have condemned Manchester United assistant coach Mike Phelan as an unreliable witness.

The inquiry was convened to look into a brawl that followed United's 2-1 defeat away to Chelsea last April.

It ended up imposing a four-match ban on Patrice Evra, rejecting claims he had been provoked by racial abuse from the Chelsea's groundsman Sam Bethel.

Bethel rejected the claims, while Nicholas Stewart QC, the head of the commission, pointed out major inconsistencies of evidence in his case notes.

"Even before the hearing we did not feel able to place strong reliance on this evidence. Mike Phelan did not impress us," the panel's findings read.

The report points out that if Phelan and then goalkeeping coach Richard Hartis had heard the comments Bethell was alleged to have made, it was implausible no-one else, specifically two black members of the Chelsea groundstaff close to the scene, would not have heard them and reported them.

"Aspects of this evidence raise questions about the reliability of their claims," the report states.

Evra was also criticised as "unnecessary and gratuitously aggressive" after taking a "far-fetched" view of a confrontation between United fitness coach Tony Strudwick and Jason Griffin, Chelsea's head groundsman.

Evra claimed he was worried for Strudwick's safety and barged into Griffin, who was carrying a pitchfork at the time.

The panel dismissed that claim as "ridiculous."

United have complained about the length of the ban, but have decided against appealing. (dpa)