Oh dear, another gem from everyone’s favourite manager in the Cloud Cuckooland Premier Division…
Ferguson also insists he will never allow his players to harangue referees and has called for more respect to be shown to officials.
(From the BBC)
Nice gesture, shame about the short-term memory, eh? Find the TV footage of every unsuccessful Man Utd penalty appeal this season, and I guarantee you’ll see the bulging eyes and furious ranting of Rooney, Carrick, Ronaldo etc.
Even worse, though, was the behaviour of Lampard, Terry and Ashley Cole last week, protesting the yellow card given to Cole after his reckless challenge on Alan Hutton. A couple of inches higher, and he could have shattered Hutton’s kneecap, but his lack of remorse was astonishing. Even worse was his refusal to face Mike Riley as he was being booked, turning his back on him like a spoiled schoolkid. Why did this not earn him a second yellow card?
I don’t know whether the root cause is a lack of respect from the players, lack of consistency from the referees or a lack of consistent support given to the referees by the FA, but I know one thing… Fabio Capello was at that Tottenham-Chelsea match, and when the camera cut to him during the Ashley Cole tantrum, he had a face like thunder.