Legal Research

Fergie cries about the refs again

By scott

So, Sir Alex Ferguson is going to appeal against a Football Association charge of improper conduct, relating to him all but saying that the referee Martin Atkinson was biased against Man Utd in Tuesday’s game with Chelsea, which Man Utd lost 2-1.

For the record Ferguson had said had “feared the worst” when referee Martin Atkinson was appointed for Tuesday’s game and added on MUTV: “You want a fair referee, or a strong referee anyway - and we didn’t get that.”

Leaving aside any of the managers of the top teams feeling they are hard done by referees ? which itself is a side-splitting joke in itself ? there is a serious point to be made. Managers such as Ferguson, Wenger etc al, are always banging on about consistency, and how that’s what they want from referees. It’s a valid point, and one which mangers themselves should follow if they believe in it.

The reason why the FA should (unless it bottle’s it) imposed a ban on Ferguson for this outburst and add it to the suspended 4 game ban from similar remarks about referee Alan Wiley last year, is that none of these managers ever comes out to criticise the refereeing in a game that they won, do they? Ferguson doesn’t speak to the press after a game and say ” Well, I’m pleased with the 3 points, but to be honest the ref had a shocker today. That penalty he gave us for the winning goal was never a penalty in a million years, and Scholesy was lucky to be still on the pitch to make that goal line clearance in the final minute. If the ref had given him that second yellow for that blatant foul on the boy at the start of the half, things might have been more tricky for us.”

Doesn’t happen. No consistency you see. Managers don’t really give a flying fuck how good, bad or indifferent the referee and referee’s assistants are in a game as long as any errors go their way and they win the game. They only cry like small children and start throwing their toys out of the pram when they lose. It’s for that reason Sir Alex should be viewing the remainder of the season from the stand.

Full post as published by Information Overload on March 04, 2011 (boomark / email).