David Beckham has admitted that Roy Keane was wrong to elbow Jason McAteer at Sunderland on Saturday - but said Manchester United's players will stand by their captain.

Beckham said the referee had no choice but to show Keane a red card, but added that the Sunderland player had made the most of the incident.

However, the England captain refuted any suggestion that Keane had become alienated by his team-mates because of his actions.

"Roy knows he was wrong and he was disappointed but he is our captain and as far as we are concerned we stick by him," Beckham said.

"Roy's arm came across McAteer but it didn't catch him as much as he made out. I told him he shouldn't have gone down.

"When any player gets the amount of stick Roy has done, he can expect the rest of the squad and the manager to stand by him.

"Roy has been magnificent for us all season and whether we think he is right or wrong stays in the club. We all rally round."