Ferguson braced for FA summons

ALEX FERGUSON is facing the possibility of a touchline ban after his heated confrontation with referee Mark Clattenburg during Manchester United’s defeat at Bolton on Saturday.

The United manager was forced to watch the second half from the main stand at the Reebok stadium following a fiery encounter with Clattenburg as the teams walked off at half-time.

The Scot — piqued by Bolton’s aggressive style — is believed to have sworn at the official during a lengthy diatribe at the way he had handled a fiercely competitive local derby.

If Clattenburg includes the incident in his match report — which seems almost certain — Ferguson will be summoned to an FA disciplinary hearing and could be banned from the dug-out or fined.

The Glaswegian is no stranger to controversy, although he has only ever once been banned from the touchline - in 2003, when he was handed a €15,000 fine and a two-match suspension for haranguing officials at Newcastle.

At least a mostly miserable day for Ferguson had a silver lining. The United manager confirmed that he expects to sign Carlos Tevez permanently and suggested a fee has already been agreed.

The Argentina striker finally signed for United in a two-year loan deal in August after protracted legal wrangling over his transfer from West Ham. Tevez, 23, has made an instant impact at Old Trafford with five goals in 17 appearances and Ferguson believes he has done more than enough to show he will be a sound investment.

“There is no question about his long-term future here,” Ferguson said. “David Gill (the club’s chief executive) has spoken to his agent and told him we are very happy with him.

“The fee is in place. I won’t tell you what it is but it is still cheap. I want to make this happen. He has impressed everyone with his appetite for the game.

Ferguson was also cheered by the news that Cristiano Ronaldo and Nemanja Vidic — who both missed United’s first defeat in 11 league games at Bolton — are pencilled in for a return to the starting line-up in tomorrow’s Champions League tie with Sporting Lisbon.

With Wayne Rooney still at least a week away from a return to first team football following his ankle injury, Ferguson at least expects Ronaldo and Vidic to be back in contention for United’s next Champions’ League group encounter. The pending return of key players was just one reason United could treat their second league defeat of the season with some measure of perspective.

“This was another day in the history of Manchester United,” Ferguson added. “From time to time, we have to take defeats, that’s part of the game and we’ll bounce back. We have the players with quality and determination to do that. Hopefully, we will now go on another run.”