Sir Alex Ferguson has a reputation for being physically unable to hold back from bad mouthing referees and he has the FA disciplinary record to prove it. So the fact that his latest charge is for actually praising a referee is enough to make one think that we've somehow entered a bizarre parallel universe.
From Reuters:
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson was charged with improper conduct by the Football Association on Friday over comments about referee Howard Webb in which he called him "the best referee in the country".
The charge, which comes two months after Ferguson received a five-match touchline ban for criticising referees, relates to views expressed at a news conference before last Sunday's 2-1 victory over Chelsea.
FA regulations make it clear that managers are not allowed to comment on referees before a match, regardless of whether the statements are positive or negative.
OK, well, if those are the rules, those are the rules. But it gets weird(er) when you consider what Carlo Ancelotti said in his press conference before the same match.
From Chelsea's official site:
"I think you don't take advantage to speak against the referee," Ancelotti said. "The decision is already done and it's not good to speak about it, you lose energy.
"Sometimes you are unlucky, and to be honest we were really lucky against Tottenham but if you want I can mention when we were unlucky.
"I don't like to do it but against Man United [in the Champions League] we were really unlucky, and against Inter last year. I think it's not good to speak about the past, and also it's not good to speak about the referee because I don't want to put pressure on the referee.
"Howard Webb is a fantastic referee, he has experience, he has skills, but this is football and sometimes when things are not good you speak about the bad decisions against you."
That, uh, doesn't seem all that different from what Ferguson is being charged over.
So is this proof of a grand conspiracy against Manchester United? Of course not. They get their fair share of breaks and good fortune just like any other big club (also: They are still about to win a record 19th league title). Plus, Fergie's long history of talking about referees when he shouldn't probably isn't helping his case. If anything, it shows how inept the FA are. But that's not news.
Photo: Getty Images
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