Thursday, March 17, 2011

Man United's Sir Alex Ferguson Handed Five-Match Ban as FA Get Tough

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Sir Alex FergusonSir Alex Ferguson has been hit with a five-match domestic touchline ban and a £30,000 fine after the Manchester United manager was found guilty of a Football Association charge of improper conduct.

Ferguson had felt confident he could talk his way out of the charge after being asked to explain his post-match criticisms of referee Martin Atkinson after the 2-1 defeat to Chelsea on March 1.

But the FA, who in the past have been accused of being too lenient with Ferguson, have come down heavily on the Scot, who complained that his side's match with Chelsea did not get a "fair referee".

The implication was of Atkinson showing bias towards Chelsea.

Despite United's defence team presenting the FA with video footage highlighting what they consider to be mistakes in favour of the London club, not just from this fixture but also the corresponding game last season, Ferguson must now serve a five-match ban which could disrupt United's charge towards a Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup treble.

Ferguson already had two matches of a four-game touchline ban hanging over him as a suspended sentence for his criticisms of Alan Wiley in 2009, when he alleged the referee was physically unfit to officiate in the Premier League and had been stopping to catch his breath during the game.
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Those two games have now been triggered along with an additional three matches.

The ban does not start until March 22, meaning he is scheduled to be in his customary seat in the Old Trafford dug-out for Saturdays visit of Bolton.

But he will have to stay out of the dug-out for the league matches at West Ham on April 2, Fulham at home on April 9, the FA Cup semi-final with Manchester City at Wembley on the weekend April 16-17 and the home league game with Everton on April 23.


Most costly of all for the Reds, Ferguson will be forced to watch from the stands at the Emirates on May 1, a fixture which is shaping up to be the game which decides the title.

Ferguson does have a right to lodge an appeal within the next 48 hours although it is understood that United advisers are currently exploring whether it is possible for them to expedite the process in order for the ban to begin against Bolton, thus allowing the manager to have completed it by the time his team visits Arsenal.

The United manager's critics will insist he had it coming although Ferguson claimed as recently as last weekend he had done nothing wrong and attacked Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish and former England boss Graham Taylor.

 

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Source: http://www.fanhouse.co.uk/2011/03/16/sir-alex-ferguson-handed-five-match-ban-as-fa-act-tough/

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