Sir Alex Ferguson has a bad temper, we all know that, and it is therefore not surprising when he was recently charged by the Football Association following his reaction at referee Mark Clattenburg last month.
The Scot peppered the referee at half-time of United’s 1-0 defeat to Bolton Wanderers on Saturday November 24th as the players left the pitch and headed down the tunnel. I wonder what he said to the referee, not that will get the exact version.
Ferguson was sent to the stands for the second half of the match and was subsequently cited by the FA for “using abusive and/or insulting words towards a match official”.
In an interview following the game, Ferguson admitted he had told Clattenburg “exactly what I thought of him” and said he expected the charge to be forthcoming.
However he did reveal his disappointment with the referee’s handling of what he called the Trotters’ ‘battling’ tactics. “You can expect a team in Bolton’s position to play that way. You expect a team near the bottom to battle, scrap and fight,” he said.
“Obviously they do not have the quality of opponents like ourselves. That is why they we are in different positions in the league.
“But the key thing is how the referee controls it. He is the arbiter in terms of the application of the rules of football - that is where we feel a bit aggrieved.”
Ferguson is likely to be hit with a fine or a touchline ban as well as a warning as to his future conduct for his comments, although he has not requested a personal hearing to defend himself.
“A regulatory commission will consider the charge in due course,” an FA statement concluded. Man, he does this often, but I must say that I like the man for speaking his mind and I would like to know what went throught the referee’s head whilst the match was on.
