Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has hit out at claims of double standards after his confrontation with Manchester City's Mario Balotelli at Wembley.

Fans accused Ferdinand of double standards after Gary Neville famously celebrated in front of the Liverpool fans after Ferdinand's winner at Old Trafford five years ago.

But Ferdinand defended himself on Twitter, by writing: "All of you who are mentioning Gary Neville vs Liverpool.....he was celebrating a GOAL(my goal) not the result so re-read my tweet beforehand perlease!"

Neville said at the time: "I would have been apologetic if I had run up to one of their players and tried to belittle them but this was a celebration. You are caught up in the moment and for a few seconds you can go bananas."