Ferguson fumes over dangerous Cole lunge
Chelsea were already a goal and a man down when Cole launched himself at Cristiano Ronaldo during the second half of his side’s 2-0 defeat to Manchester United.
Getting nowhere near the ball, Cole caught Ronaldo crudely on the ankle but was only booked by referee Mike Dean, a move which triggered a furious reaction from Ferguson, whose mood had not changed after the final whistle.
“Joe Cole should have been sent off,” said the Scot. “Tackles like that are a danger to players. He went right down the back of his leg and could have done some real damage.
“It is the type of thing Cristiano is facing all the time now but Cole got off with it because the referee was balancing things out after the first sending off.”
Ferguson’s attack cut little ice with Chelsea boss Avram Grant, who was hugely critical of Dean’s performance.
Chelsea have already launched an appeal against the dismissal of Mikel Jon Obi for what Dean felt was a two-footed tackle on Patrice Evra just after the half-hour mark.
TV replays showed the Nigerian had made contact with only one foot but did have his studs raised.
If that was not bad enough for Grant, the Israeli also reckoned Carlos Tevez’s opener came well after the allotted two minutes of first-half injury time.
He also felt an already-booked Wayne Rooney should have been sent off for charging into the back of Ashley Cole before his misery was compounded by a debatable penalty converted by Louis Saha after the Frenchman had tumbled theatrically under minimal contact from Tal Ben Haim.
“Alex Ferguson can be more than happy with the referee today,” said Grant. “The referee tried his best but he made three mistakes; the red card, their first goal and the penalty. I am also surprised Rooney was not shown a second yellow card. Maybe I am being naive but I wonder what Sir Alex’s reaction would have been if he was in my position.”
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