Ferguson to fight five-match touchline ban
The manager’s latest rant at a referee also landed him with a £30,000 (€34,579) fine for his verbal attack on referee Martin Atkinson at Chelsea last month.
Ferguson criticised Atkinson’s failure to send David Luiz off for fouls on Javier Hernandez and Wayne Rooney after the Brazilian had already been booked.
With United’s title run faltering in recent weeks, Ferguson will spend April in the stands.
“The commission invoked a two-match suspended touchline ban, relating to a previous charge of improper conduct in relation to media comments made in October 2009,” said an FA statement.
“Therefore Alex Ferguson was ordered to a serve a five-match touchline ban commencing on Tuesday March 22.”
Ferguson will have 48 hours to appeal when he receives the official findings today meaning any sanction will not start until after Saturday’s Premier League encounter with Bolton.
Ferguson was bullish about the battle that lay ahead, using his programme notes ahead of the Arsenal cup-tie to declare: “I now face an FA charge for what, to my mind, was simply telling the truth.
“I will be defending myself strongly when my FA appeal hearing comes up.”
However, he’s not the only Manchester United man making bold statements. Nani launched a furious attack on Liverpool’s Jamie Carragher over the tackle which left him with an ugly gash on his leg.
Carragher tried to apologise to the Portugal star but he rejected it. In the wake of a quicker-than-expected comeback against Marseille in the Champions League, Nani was still livid. “I don’t know what Carragher was thinking but I do know what he did was not football,” said Nani.
“He came to apologise after the game. But I was not happy. It is the second time he injured me. Before he put me out of the game for two months. He always tackles like that.
“I don’t want protection. I just want the referees to be fair.
“If it is a red card, they have to give it. If they give the card, the next time the player doesn’t make the tackle.”
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