Beckham gashed by Fergie in dressing room

David Beckham was left needing stitches after Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson kicked a football boot in his face on Saturday, it has emerged.

The star midfielder was sitting in the dressing room after United’s 2-0 FA Cup defeat against Arsenal when a furious Alex Ferguson stormed in and kicked out at the boot, according to sources close to the midfielder.

Beckham was on the receiving end of Ferguson’s cross-dressing room kick which left a gash above one of his eyes that required two stitches.

Beckham was angered by the incident and went straight to his car with wife Victoria and his two sons after receiving medical treatment at the ground.

He had been substituted in the fifth round of the FA Cup tie after injuring his right leg.

Television viewers saw the United boss red-faced and seething in a post-match interview in which he accused the Arsenal players of diving.

The intense rivalry he shares with Arsene Wenger is legendary and his outburst prompted a war of words with the Arsenal boss.

A Manchester United spokesman last night refused to comment on the Beckham incident, saying: “Whatever happens in the dressing room remains private.”

It is not thought that 60-year-old Ferguson intentionally set out to hurt anyone in the dressing room.

However, the fiery Scotsman is renowned in football circles for his “tea cup throwing” post-match dressing room antics.

Many former players have recounted his infamous “hairdrying treatment” in which he leans his face inches away from the player’s and launches into a tirade, often lasting minutes.