Ferguson charged again

[Exiled_red]

I can't believe Henry Winter is still so highly regarded by people

[CJ]

hes cracking up

[Mr Darko]

Good news and fully deserved. As others have said having a small fine pointless to someone like Fergie, why not have something like the following if a manager does repeatedly does it...

1st time: 1 game ban, £30k fine
2nd: 3 game ban, £100k fine
3rd: 5 game ban, £1,000,000 fine
4th 7 game ban, £10,000,000 fine and dock points.

That'll put an end to it for sure.

[Chazza]

Love it, the FA have all of a sudden turned on him after years of taking his ****, Manc mate of mine claiming that David Dein is behind it all

Be great if this pushed Fergie over the edge and the old cunt jacked it in

Off topic Charles Manson your avatar is brilliant the thought of a mental murdering nutcase having a little chomping Plasticine fella as his face to the people does me

[Cormack74]

Ferguson brown-nosing journos - like Henry Winter for example - are up in arms about this ...spectacularly missing the point with statements like "so you can get in trouble for saying a ref is good now?"

Ditto Jeff Powell on the radio this morning. Pathetic really.

[RedAndWhite]

Sky are the same - but then again it was one of their guys who asked the question. Maybe their worried he'll do a BBC on them.....

[lfcred]

Its a joke to be fair! They are required to speak to the media and then get fined when they tell them what they think!!

[Neil Young]

I disagree. The rule is he shouldn't speak about referees before the game. Journalists are entitled to ask him the question but he doesn't have to answer it.

It's a journalist's job to get a story - if Ferguson can't control his mouth that's his problem, not theirs.

[Suarez]

He's been getting away with it for far too long and it now looks like the FA have finally had enough.

How he's been getting away with not speaking to the BBC for so long is beyond me, its part of the contract when companies pay millions for the right to show the footy.

[Exiled_red]

I disagree. The rule is he shouldn't speak about referees before the game. Journalists are entitled to ask him the question but he doesn't have to answer it.

It's a journalist's job to get a story - if Ferguson can't control his mouth that's his problem, not theirs.

Aboslutely

[vlahka]

Didnt ancelloti talk about the ref before the match too though?

[RedAndWhite]

Didnt ancelloti talk about the ref before the match too though?

I think he spoke about referee's, not the actual referee.

[Shaggy]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/manchester-united/8517663/Sir-Alex-Ferguson-snubs-FA-over-charge-for-making-complimentary-comments-about-referee-Howard-Webb.html

Sir Alex Ferguson snubs FA over charge for making complimentary comments about referee Howard Webb

Furious Sir Alex Ferguson has delivered a snub to the Football Association by failing to issue a plea in response to a charge of improper conduct for making complimentary comments about referee Howard Webb.

By Mark Ogden 6:30AM BST 17 May 2011

Although the FA confirmed on Monday night that it had received ‘correspondence’ from Manchester United ahead of the 4pm deadline to respond to the charge, Ferguson is understood to be so incensed by his latest brush with the FA’s disciplinary unit that he has chosen to ignore the charge and has waived his right to reply.

United have acknowledged receipt of the charge in their correspondence to the FA without Ferguson offering either his acceptance of it or his determination to appeal.

Central to Ferguson’s anger is his belief that rival managers, notably Stoke City’s Tony Pulis, have made similarly innocuous comments without being charged by the FA.

Ferguson’s refusal to co-operate is unlikely to affect the outcome of the charge, with a warning the likeliest result when the issue is reviewed by a disciplinary commission.

Ferguson and his managerial counterparts were stunned and bemused by the FA’s decision to take action against Ferguson for claiming, prior to the 2-1 victory against Chelsea on May 8, that World Cup referee Webb was the “best man for the job”.

Ferguson was contacted by the FA, who claimed in a letter that “pre-match comments concerning the appointed match officials for a particular fixture, whether the official is identifiable by name or by implication, are deemed by the FA to amount to improper conduct, in breach of FA Rule E3”.

Similar comments about referees have been made by a host of managers this season, with Chelsea’s Carlo Ancelotti also publicly commenting on Webb’s suitability for the game against United. Ancelotti could yet be charged by the FA, however.

Ferguson is understood to regard comments by Pulis about Webb, prior to Stoke’s FA Cup semi-final win against Bolton last month, which passed under the FA’s radar, as proof of the inexplicable nature of the latest action against him.

Pulis said, on March 30: “Howard is a great ref in my book and certainly as good as there is in the world. What makes him special is that little bit of an aura he has about him. He deals with players very well and I think most people in the game respect him.

"We are pleased to have him [for the semi-final]. Now we just hope it’s an eventful game for the right reasons and that major decisions are decided by the players, not the officials.”

While Ferguson has no desire to see Pulis or other managers face FA disciplinary action, the Scot has no intention of giving credibility to the body’s disciplinary procedures by acknowledging his latest charge.

The 69 year-old has endured a turbulent end to the season at the hands of the FA having been given a five-match touchline ban and £30,000 fine for his comments about Martin Atkinson following United’s defeat at Chelsea in March.

Last season, Ferguson was given a two-match ban, with two games suspended, for labelling Alan Wiley unfit to referee in the Premier League.

[Exiled_red]

Ferguson’s refusal to co-operate is unlikely to affect the outcome of the charge, with a warning the likeliest result when the issue is reviewed by a disciplinary commission.

Why should he only get a warning? based on his previous behaviour surely it should be a ban, he got a ban last year for comments about refs plus a suspended ban, which he envoked by making more comments about officials, he clearly and consistently breaks the rules regarding discussing officials. Also he is showing further contempt for the FA and the rules by refusing to co-operate, this should also be taken into account. If he only gets a warning this time the FA are taking the piss.

[Fredo]

What a ****ing knight he is.