It’s time for the FA to crack down on Fergie
It was an evenly poised encounter at White Hart Lane on Sunday evening, with Tottenham Hotspur chasing the game having gone 1-0 down to Manchester United courtesy of Robin van Persie’s first half header.
With the Premier League pace setters looking to see out the encounter, Sir Alex Ferguson threw Wayne Rooney into the action in order to add some tenacity and grit into the middle of the park. The England international, during his time on the pitch, at one point looked to have been clipped by Spurs’ Steven Caulker in the 18 yard box it what adjudged by referee Chris Foy to not have been a penalty.
The official closest to the action at the time was linesman Simon Beck, who like Foy, felt Rooney hadn’t warranted the penalty, despite replay’s suggesting he had been clipped by his compatriot. As a result, Ferguson took to his post-match interview with a view to criticising the Beck, dubbing his performance “shocking”, insisting the vistors “never got anything from that side of the pitch” before adding that Beck was the man who didn’t rule out Didier Drogba’s winner at Old Trafford during Chelsea’s push for the title two-and-a-half years ago.
Unsurprisingly, Ferguson was pulled up for his comments, with the Football Association asking the veteran Scot to explain himself and has until 6pm Thursday evening to respond. Regardless of any plea of innocence from the United boss, it’s hight time the FA clamped down on the 71-year-old.
Too many times Ferguson has made comments bearing a striking resemblance to his outburst on Sunday evening, but never been substantially punished for doing so. This time, however, he deserves to be made an example of.
The United boss’ sporadic acts of controversy consistently undermine the performances of referee’s and linesmen and women, who are naturally going to make mistakes – they are only human after all. A fitting punishment is deserving of Ferguson, be it a hefty fine or a touchline ban, but the FA need to ensure that this time his remarks aren’t simply swept under the carpet, much like they have been in the past.
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