Nigel de Jong backed by Roberto Mancini

Manchester City midfielder Nigel de Jong has been supported by manager Roberto Mancini, having recently been criticised for his physical approach to the game.

The 25-year-old was axed by Netherlands head coach Bert van Marwijk following his recent leg-breaking challenge on Newcastle United's Hatem Ben Arfa, but Mancini believes that de Jong has been wrongly identified as a 'dirty' player.

He told reporters:"I remember the foul in the World Cup final very well. He was late in the tackle. He started and couldn't stop.

"But he is an honest player. He is a hard player but there are a lot of players like that and I am very disappointed with all the people who have spoken about this situation.

"It was a normal tackle (on Ben Arfa), not the kind of thing that people have been speaking about. Ben Arfa was very unlucky to get this injury.

"I am very sorry for him and hope he can play very quickly. Sometimes I agree, we must pay attention to tackles because when things happen like this with Ben Arfa, it is very disappointing.

"But these situations can happen in football.

"Nigel was disappointed to get dropped by Holland. He is a Holland player who always worked at 100 per cent for the national team."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email