Fergie defends Vidic tackle

ALEX FERGUSON hit back over Owen Coyle’s assertion that Nemanja Vidic committed a “terrible tackle” on Johan Elmander at the Reebok Stadium on Saturday.

The FA are taking no action against the United defender, who flattened Elmander in an aerial duel during the Red Devils’ 4-0 win. The news will disappoint Coyle, whose player required five stitches in a head wound the Scot felt occurred deliberately.

But Ferguson was quick to defend his man. “What is the old saying about people in glass houses?” he countered. “When Nemanja came off at half-time he had a lump on his head the size of an egg, his cheek was swollen and he had a black eye. It was the best central defensive performance I have seen for years. I would have been amazed if the FA had charged him because clearly, his eyes were on the ball. There was no intent there whatsoever.”