Arsène Wenger has reopened hostilities between Manchester United and Arsenal by accusing the Premier League champions of using "anti-football" tactics during their 2-1 victory at Old Trafford on Saturday. Wenger is to receive an official apology for being banished from the dugout but he remains incensed by the "Old Trafford-ish" standard of refereeing and his conviction that Sir Alex Ferguson's players, predominantly Darren Fletcher, were guilty of systematic fouling.

After a period of relative calm between Wenger and Ferguson the allegations will go down badly at Old Trafford after a match in which Arsenal had six players booked, triggering an automatic £25,000 fine from the Football Association. The conduct of Wenger's players was also brought into question by Emmanuel Eboué being shown a yellow card for diving, a day after Eduardo da Silva had been charged by Uefa for "deceiving the referee" for a similar offence, but the Arsenal manager insisted the "bigger problem" in football was of players being allowed to get away with persistent and deliberate fouling – and he pointed an accusatory finger at Ferguson's men.

"There are other points [than diving]that, for me, are more urgent – players who play only to make fouls and who are never punished; players who make repeated fouls and who get out of the game without a yellow card. That, for me, is more anti-football than a player who did what Eduardo did." Wenger was asked to clarify whether he meant Fletcher and laughed, replying with mock surprise: "Why do you say the name?" Fletcher had given away six free-kicks, twice as many as any of his team-mates, but was not one of the three United players to get a yellow card.

"I have seen a player who plays only on the pitch to make repeated fouls," Wenger continued. "Look at how many deliberate fouls some players make and get away with. I think that's a bigger problem [than diving] because it cuts the flow of the game. And people come and pay to see football. They do not come to see free‑kicks. You should ask the referees [how they get away with it]."

Wenger has accused Ferguson's players of using similar tactics in the past, most notably saying his team had been "kicked off the pitch" at Old Trafford during the 2004-05 season. It was put to him that he had previously suspected this was a deliberate part of United's strategy. "You will have to ask them," he replied.

On this occasion, however, the Frenchman may have opened himself to allegations of diversion tactics at a time when Eduardo and, to a lesser extent, Eboué have embarrassed the club. Robin van Persie also gave away six free-kicks even if, unlike Fletcher, he was booked. The manager who has become infamous for his insistence that he did not see controversial incidents did, at least, recognise did recognise that Eboué had tried to win a free-kick by going down under a non-existent challenge, but there was no condemnation and, likewise, he continued to insist that Eduardo was the victim of a Uefa "witch-hunt." He said: "I think it is difficult with diving. Sometimes players dive to escape being hit. It's not always necessarily diving because you want to dive. Sometimes it's a way of getting out of the way. The borderline between being sensible, being shrewd or being a cheat is very slim so, in some cases, to assess which is which is very difficult."

Arsenal, he insisted, were a club that did not tolerate diving. "I like that," he said, when asked whether it mattered more in England than other countries. "I think it's a quality in this country. In some countries it is a quality to dive. I'm still more proud to be part of England where they fight against that."

The referee, Mike Dean, acting on the advice of the fourth official, Lee Probert, sent off Wenger in the final moments of Saturday's game for kicking a water bottle in frustration after a disallowed goal. However, the FA is unlikely to take disciplinary action. Instead, the League Managers' Association chief executive, Richard Bevan, spoke to the Premier League referees' chief, Keith Hackett, and was informed that Wenger would receive an apology.

"Although [the decision was] correct in law, it was completely out of context in the game and it was followed by the nonsense over where Wenger should sit," Bevan said. "I've spoken to Keith Hackett and he fully recognises the situation was an error and an apology will follow. Lee Probert totally failed to manage the situation and created a needless pressure point, taking the focus away from the pitch in a big event with only a minute to go."

Eduardo will discover on Tuesday whether Uefa is to ban him for the exaggerated fall that led to Arsenal winning a penalty in their 3-1 defeat of Celtic in last week's Champions League qualifiers. Arsenal will fight his case and Wenger said the club had television pictures to prove that the forward had been touched by Celtic's goalkeeper, Artur Boruc.

"Uefa have made the case of Eduardo. If you watch the Super Cup on Friday then they will have to charge (Lionel) Messi for headbutting or they will lose credibility. They have opened something there that over the weekend I'll find you 50 situations where they can intervene, or if they don't Eduardo will be singled out for being a wrong victim. I do not want Messi to be punished but if they go for Eduardo then people will demand it. Pedro, also of Barcelona, dived as well [in the Super Cup] and so I don't think there's any logic to Eduardo's case. We have clear proof that from behind he was touched on his right leg."

Wenger is suspicious about the number of Scots in prominent positions at Uefa and added: "There is no common sense. I believe it was a more emotional decision really because if Uefa had said before the season starts, 'Listen, let's get together and no matter what happens in Uefa games, if we suspect someone of diving he will be punished' then you could say, OK, we've always been told they will do that. But suddenly, out from nowhere because it was an emotional situation in Scotland, we have this situation and have to live with that."