http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11667_6817025,00.html Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has been handed a five-match touchline ban and ã30,000 fine by the Football Association following his criticism of referee Martin Atkinson. Ferguson had been charged with improper conduct by the FA after questioning Atkinson following United's 2-1 defeat at Chelsea at the start of the month. He was unhappy with Atkinson's failure to show Chelsea defender David Luiz a second yellow card for a trip on Wayne Rooney before the visitors scored a decisive penalty and United then had Nemanja Vidic sent off. "You want a fair referee, or a strong referee anyway - and we didn't get that," said Ferguson to MUTV in the aftermath of the game. "I must say, when I saw who the referee was I feared it. I feared the worst." Ferguson had opted to appeal the charge and, speaking prior to United's FA Cup win over Arsenal at the weekend, stated that he had truth on his side. Aggrieved "I felt aggrieved and I now face an FA charge for what, to my mind, was simply telling the truth," he wrote in his programme notes. "I will be defending myself strongly when my FA appeal hearing comes up. "In fact, I am looking forward to the challenge because, to my mind, I have not said anything out of place, however much the media urge the FA to take action." However, the FA has found Ferguson guilty of the charge and the long-serving United boss has been hit with five-game ban from the dugout. The length of the ban is in part due to the two-game suspended tariff he had hanging over his head for questioning the fitness of referee Alan Wiley last season. The ban does not come into force until Tuesday 22nd March, so Ferguson will be on the touchline for Saturday's game against Bolton Wanderers. He will then be in the stands for the Premier League matches against West Ham, Fulham and Everton and he will not be allowed in the dugout for next month's FA Cup semi-final against arch-rivals Manchester City. Currently, the last game of the ban would be the Sunday 1st May showdown with title rivals Arsenal, although that could change depending upon when United rearrange their postponed fixture against Newcastle United.
The FA like to make an example of Fergie and United from time to time. In a vain attempt to prove they've got balls by going for the big guys.
Can't really be that pissed off at the FA for this. The rules are clear: questioning the integrity of the officials is improper conduct. They charged Babel, so they had to charge SAF, particularly with his suspended sentence from the Wiley comments. I'm more pissed off at SAF than anyone. He knows that as soon as he questions the integrity of the officials he gets slammed, so why does he do it? Had it actually fired up the team and led to a result at 'pool I wouldn't mind, but we got panned. All he's succeeded in doing is potentially getting a touchline ban for part of the run in and possibly the crucial match against Arsenal. Lame.
What different is he to Wenger who in 2007 suggested a lineman was a liar? Result: Wenger gets a warning and only a ã2,500 fine. Also when Wenger allegedly pushed a fourth official, he gets a 12 match ban but later gets it reduced to 1 game after appealing. People say 1 rule for SAF and another for everyone else? You're damn right.
Yeah. I'd be surprised if he didn't. Probably will and get it reduced to 1 or 2 games. Could do a Jose for the Arsenal game and hide in the laundry basket!!
I was more talking in general than about this particular case. Unfortunately Fergie's given them an excellent excuse to flex their muscles again.
IIRC Wenger's comments were made to the fourth official and not to the media, and it was his first major offence. And SAF has gotten off with some incidents before, notably calling Martin Atkison "a disgrace" after the Pompey FA Cup QF in 2008. Wenger's 'push' on Atkinson was barely anything, although he did get off quite lightly with a one match ban in the end, and SAF will probably have his ban reduced to two or three games on appeal. SAF is probably paying the price of being in the game as long as he has, as the FA seems to take cumulative incidents into account. But given that he's been banned four (and now five) times in the past eight years, for abusing the officials and making comments about them, you'd think he'd tone it down by now. Other managers may make individual comments that are out of line, but SAF just seems to do it again and again, regardless of the punishments he gets. I also thought the editorial team at MUTV should have been more on the ball about this one. They could have broadcast the interview on a two minute delay and cut the feed when he made the 'referee wasn't fair' comment as they could have predicted that would land him in trouble.
