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Manchester - Manchester United chief executive David Gill received an apology Tuesday from the Football Association over its decision to publish evidence from Patrice Evra's disciplinary hearing without prior notice.

Evra was banned for four matches and fined 15,000 pounds ($21,950) by the FA on Dec. 5 for improper conduct during a post-match brawl at Chelsea in April in which he was found to have struck a Stamford Bridge groundsman.

The FA accused United assistant manager Mike Phelan of giving inconsistent, unreliable and misleading evidence, and incensed the Red Devils by publishing without warning the hearing's full findings on its Web site while they were in Japan winning the Club World Cup.

Evra's conduct was described as "unnecessarily and gratuitously aggressive," while the FA totally rejected claims by Phelan and goalkeeping coach Richard Hartis that groundsman Sam Bethell had used racist language toward the black France defender.

Gill met Tuesday with FA chairman David Triesman and warned English football's governing body that it had jeopardized future investigations.

"The club acknowledges the desirability of more transparency in the disciplinary process, but only on a consistent basis - both in publication and in verdict," United said in a statement. "The club accepts that there was no intention to harm the reputations of Michael Phelan, Richard Hartis and others, but feels that the episode has potentially created an atmosphere in which people in the game will be reluctant to volunteer information if they believe their careers may suffer as a result of helping the FA.

"The staff involved have exemplary careers as professionals at the top of the game, and Michael in particular has been associated with the club for most of the last 20 years and in that time he has consistently demonstrated himself to be a man of the highest integrity."

Triesman accepted that all the evidence from a private hearing should not have been published.

"The FA has made it clear it stands by the decision of the Independent Commission, and the decision to publish the written findings of the hearing," English football's governing body said in a statement. "Although in this case, a summary may have been more appropriate, due to those who provided evidence not being made aware that they would be doing so publicly and also that individuals' reputations have been publicly called into question through doing so."

The FA pledged to give clubs prior notice about its decision to release evidence.

"The FA regrets that those involved in providing evidence at the hearing concerning Manchester United's Patrice Evra's charge were not verbally advised that their words would be publicized before and after giving evidence," the FA said. "Additionally, the FA has also made clear it is regrettable that it did not extend the courtesy generally provided to clubs, to advise Manchester United - in advance - that the written findings from the disciplinary hearing of 4/5 December 2008, would be made public."

United decided not to appeal the "disproportionate and a poor decision" since two of the matches in the ban are against lower-league opposition.

Chelsea was fined 25,000 pounds ($36,600) for failing to ensure an employee conducted himself in an orderly fashion.