Soccer: Fergie stands by attack on Leeds

Sir Alex Ferguson has stood by his attack on Leeds and insists referees are not biased towards Manchester United.

The United boss took exception to Leeds' Lucas Radebe's claims officials were biased in favour of United after Fabien Barthez had not been sent off for kicking out at Ian Harte.

And he claimed it is only natural for him to bite back when he feels his players have been criticised unfairly.

Ferguson still felt aggrieved ahead of tomorrow's Champions League clash with Panathinaikos.

And he claimed the statistics just do not back up Radebe's allegation.

Ferguson felt it was important for him to respond and put the record straight, even if his comments have sparked a public spat between him and Leeds manager David O'Leary.

"It was just a reminder to people that our disciplinary record is fantastic," he said.

"I think that in the context of a football match, certainly, criticism of controlling referees doesn't have any foundation.

"I think it's important for Manchester United to remind people of certain factors, certainly in terms of penalty kicks.

"If a team is dominant in relation to referees then it will be shown in statistics like sendings-off against Manchester United or penalty kicks. That's always a great barometer of bias from referees.

"I think it's important that we should point these things out from time to time and remind people."