Vieira wants passion protection

Vieira produced some of the most memorable Premier League moments and his midfield battles with Roy Keane as the pair slugged it out for Arsenal and Manchester United were legendary.

However, after witnessing Vincent Kompany get sent off for a tackle on Nani that did not even make contact with the United winger during last month's Manchester derby, Vieira has come to the conclusion that those days are gone.

"The beauty of the English game, especially in the Premier League, is the speed, the passion from the players and the tackling," said the Frenchman, now a Manchester City ambassador.

"England is the only country in the world where fans in the stadium applaud the striker who has scored, but also the defender who wins the ball with a tackle.

"Now it looks like you cannot tackle anymore.

"The referees' body has to be really careful to not kill the passion of the game.

"Other players will never accept a fellow professional going to hurt somebody, these kind of players need to punished severely.

"But if these changes to the rules mean there is more of a European pace or style to the Premier League, English fans could get bored and would not come to see the games."

There is a more personal aspect to Vieira's complaint.

Ahead of the trip to Aston Villa, when City will try to consolidate its status as Premier League leader, he has spoken out against the succession of calls that have gone against his club in recent weeks.

The dismissal of Mario Balotelli at Liverpool in November left manager Roberto Mancini grumbling.

Kompany's red card was followed, days later, by Liverpool's Glen Johnson escaping punishment for a very similar challenge.

Subsequent Football Association intervention in suspending Balotelli for four games for his tackle on Tottenham's Scott Parker left everyone at City feeling angry and frustrated.

"I don't want to say that everyone is against City but when you look at the last few decisions, you are asking yourself if something is wrong, if people don't want us to win the league," said Vieira.

"It felt like that anything City do will be amplified and we get punished, compared to the other teams and the other players.

"We are trying our best to win the league and we accept our punishment.

"But when you look what is happening to the other clubs, it makes us really frustrated."