*Cougar*:

he should appeal. what are they gonna do if he appeals, 10-match ban or 20? the pendulum swings ferguson's way with this charge. he has the evidence that atkinson is an incompetent tool. the videos are there, chelsea's stats of 14 wins and 1 draw in 15 games of atkinson in charge is also there. if i were fergie, i would get a queen's counsel and fight the fa with all i have got. he's retiring anyways so what has he got to lose?

This decision has nothing to do with justice or fairness. While I can understand activating d suspended 2 match ban, where did they get a 3 match ban for saying "You want a fair referee, or a strong referee anyway - and we didn't get that".

SAF better not appeal as d FA simply wants to satisfy d media and ABU (anyone but united) punditry who want SAF hung out to dry. If he appeals they will not consider d merits of his case before increasing his ban even further. They want to make an example of him regardless of d merits of their case.

montelik:

This decision has nothing to do with justice or fairness. While I can understand activating d suspended 2 match ban, where did they get a 3 match ban for saying "You want a fair referee, or a strong referee anyway - and we didn't get that".

they are rogues. one of the most useless sporting organizations in the world. tony pulis did the same several times this season questioning the referee and why referees were appointed. i didn't see the fa axe slamming on him. no consistency. one rule for united, another for the rest of the league.

SAF better not appeal as d FA simply wants to satisfy d media and ABU (anyone but united) punditry who want SAF hung out to dry. If he appeals they will not consider d merits of his case before increasing his ban even further. They want to make an example of him regardless of d merits of their case.

let him appeal. what's the difference between a 5 match ban and a 40 match ban? when was the last time fergie was even in united's dug-out at old trafford? he always sits down win/lose/draw. it makes no difference. . . .if he wants to pass his message across, the mobile phone will enable him do that.

Everyone knew Fergie was gonna get the book thrown at him after his comments, especially after the suspended ban from last season.

After dodging a bullet with Clattenburg chickening out on admitting his mistake to the FA, I would've bet my mortgage that the FA would hit him with the biggest hammer, just to 'prove' that they aren't weak when it comes to Utd. . . .and most importantly to prevent more Rafa-esque 'FACT' meltdowns.

Safe to say Fergie won't speak to the media till 2013 now.

I like this though, I love it when you push SAF back into a corner. Plus I dont mind us getting special treatment even if its negative. I'll worry when no one cares about us anymore.

@cougar.

Its not just d length of d ban that is d only problem. If SAF contests d charge, it will keep this whole manufactured controversy in d media spotlight and attract unnecessary attention that will distract d whole club from focusing at a crucial point during d season. It could also open us up to more hostility from d F.A, and even worse from d referees appointed to united games.

If this was anytime during season from August to February/March, I would be urging SAF to wage a full unrelenting war, calling out d F.A for incompetence and d press for hypocrisy. But at this stage we can't afford d distraction and dangers of dragging this out.

Mr_TA:

I like this though, I love it when you push SAF back into a corner. Plus I dont mind us getting special treatment even if its negative. I'll worry when no one cares about us anymore.

the exact reason i want ferguson to let this linger till may. he should continue to appeal this charge until the fa see themselves as the incompetent zealots they are.

montelik:

@cougar.

Its not just d length of d ban that is d only problem. If SAF contests d charge, it will keep this whole manufactured controversy in d media spotlight and attract unnecessary attention that will distract d whole club from focusing at a crucial point during d season. It could also open us up to more hostility from d F.A, and even worse from d referees appointed to united games.

united players need that attention to create a siege mentality. the world against us mentality. it has been our best tactics in the last 20 yrs or thereabout. even if saf does not contest this charge, something else will crop up later. united is the biggest football institution in the world. whatever we do there will always get magnified so there's no end to this hullabaloo.

If this was anytime during season from August to February/March, I would be urging SAF to wage a full unrelenting war, calling out d F.A for incompetence and d press for hypocrisy. But at this stage we can't afford d distraction and dangers of dragging this out.

if he fights this now then all eyes will be on the match officials in united's games. they will sit tight before making stupid decisions like the one in stamford bridge. i don't mind losing a game fair and square. wolves beat united fair and square. west ham battered united fair and square. liverpool roasted us fai and square. we did not deserve to win any of those games at all but the chelsea loss was too painful. the exact treatment we got there last season. if fergie doesn't make a fuss now, we will get atkinson in that same fixture next season.

*Cougar*:

the exact reason i want ferguson to let this linger till may. he should continue to appeal this charge until the fa see themselves as the incompetent zealots they are.

united players need that attention to create a siege mentality. the world against us mentality. it has been our best tactics in the last 20 yrs or thereabout. even if saf does not contest this charge, something else will crop up later. united is the biggest football institution in the world. whatever we do there will always get magnified so there's no end to this hullabaloo.

if he fights this now then all eyes will be on the match officials in united's games. they will sit tight before making silly decisions like the one in stamford bridge. i don't mind losing a game fair and square. wolves beat united fair and square. west ham battered united fair and square. liverpool roasted us fai and square. we did not deserve to win any of those games at all but the chelsea loss was too painful. the exact treatment we got there last season. if fergie doesn't make a fuss now, we will get atkinson in that same fixture next season.

HELL NO. Did you not see d indirect effect of d media lynching of Clattenburg for failing to send Rooney off and not amending his match report to allow for a violent conduct charge, as well as d criticism of SAF for not shooting Rooney on d spot. D medias over bloated reaction to d Wigan brouhaha probably contributed to Atkinson giving d shambolic display he did at d bridge (he didn't want to end up like his colleagues).

If SAF fights it will only make referees more likely to be harsh against us, so d press and ABUs won't accuse them of being susceptible to SAF's "bullying" antics.

montelik:

HELL NO. Did you not see d indirect effect of d media lynching of Clattenburg for failing to send Rooney off and not amending his match report to allow for a violent conduct charge, as well as d criticism of SAF for not shooting Rooney on d spot. D medias over bloated reaction to d Wigan brouhaha probably contributed to Atkinson giving d shambolic display he did at d bridge (he didn't want to end up like his colleagues).

If SAF fights it will only make referees more likely to be harsh against us, so d press and ABUs won't accuse them of being susceptible to SAF's "bullying" antics.

if he doesn't fight it, the referees are not going to be nice to man utd as well. when have they ever loved united sef? they are all twunts. always trying to do the "i sent rooney off or i sent vidic off - i am a superstar".

Thought you lot might find this site useful.

http://www.aboutmanutd.com/

Interesting piece about Berbatov's recent run of bench-warming. . . .somebody made a very logical comment about SAF investing so much in Rooney now and Berba being the fall guy for it - what do y'all think!

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/football/early-doors/article/319824/

Five-match ban for SAF - starts March 22, 2011

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/16032011/58/premier-league-ferguson-handed-five-match-ban.html

@montelik,
I agree with you.The FA hardly ever deals with erring refs.When managers speak out against incompetent refs,they throw the book at the managers.
Atkinson ensured Chelsea won that game.But the FA won't look into his shoddy performance.
@tkb,
I've been on exile,so I think everything is water under the bridge. . .what's up with you equating me with someone else?I can understand the daft Gaynners. . .but et tu,Brut?

Dangerous tackles don't attract 5 match ban but a verbal attack on incompetent REFs would attract a 5 match ban

You begin to wonder why their national teams are prone to disasters whenever they compete with others. What a useless set up

SAF shd just lay low and focus on delivering the championship. He wasn't employed to fight the FA.

Let the FA kuku give the trophy to Arsenal. Animals

@tkb,
I was telling an Arsenal fan who is my colleague the exact same thing about their FA and national team.

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/17032011/63/ferguson-sanction-harsh-ancelotti.html

Even Ancelotti thinks d punishment is ridiculous. I can't blame him, he probably knows that he could just as easily be on d receiving of a ridiculous punishment tomorrow. If what he said warrants d punishment, then any manager could have his words twisted to claim he is in breach of regulations.

Didnt he have 3 touchline ban suspended for 2 yrs. . ? . so if he's guilty of the recent ref disrespect then the 3 will surely come into consideration. . nothing surprising or new.

lalaboi:

Didnt he have 3 touchline ban suspended for 2 yrs. . ? . so if he's guilty of the recent ref disrespect then the 3 will surely come into consideration. . nothing surprising or new.

Really?
Disrespecting a ref.
Disrespect now means telling him (the ref)  he didn't do a good job officiating,eh?
And telling him he didn't d ohis job properly should warrant any kind of ban,abi?
I suspect this must be a Gaynner.
You can spot them a mile off from their comments

^^

Bros, Karma is a binsh. . You had a player on the field cos a referee failed to do his job. . . we had David luiz playing 90mins in that game cos the ref failed to do is job. . if you can accept when decisions favour you, you should accept when decisions go against you!

It is plain disrespectful when a manager comes out saying "When i saw who the ref was, i knew bla bla bla nla. . " in his mind, Atkinson is always biased against united. . how is that not deserving of a suspension?. .

Ol boy,stop mocking yourself with these lousy posts.Nor be by force to type.
The fact is,David Luiz shoulda been sent off.John TErry handled the ball in the penalty area.If he wasn't sent off and Terry wasn't penalised for his handball,Atkinson didn't do his job properly.And Fergie as well as other managers should be well within his and their rights to complain when the refs do a poor job.
We got jobbed by the same ref at the same fixture last season.Tell me if you wouldn't complain if the same scenario repeated itself in consecutive seasons.Yet you sit here and type this idealistic nonsense.

(Eastbay):

Ol boy,stop mocking yourself with these lousy posts.Nor be by force to type.
The fact is,David Luiz shoulda been sent off.John TErry handled the ball in the penalty area.If he wasn't sent off and Terry wasn't penalised for his handball,Atkinson didn't do his job properly.And Fergie as well as other managers should be well within his rights to complain about that.
We got jobbed by the same ref at the same fixture last season.Tell me if you wouldn't complain if the same scenario repeated itself in consecutive seasons.Yet you sit here and type this idealistic nonsense.

O boy. . are u alright? lol. .
where in my post did you see that i said Atkinson did a great job?. . O boy, better go spec savers before that eye pluck comot
come back when you can read and understand . . . No wonder 12% dey pass waec!. . shior!

Like say managers havent complained about referees in post match conferences without resulting to personal attacks. .how is that defensible?? . .damn!

lalaboi:

O boy. . are u alright? lol. .
where in my post did you see that i said Atkinson did a great job?. . O boy, better go spec savers before that eye pluck comot
come back when you can read and understand . . . No wonder 12% dey pass waec!. . shior!
Like say managers havent complained about referees in post match conferences without resulting to personal attacks. .how is that defensible?? . .damn!

Dumb and dumber re-incarnate.
So why are you saying Fergie is disrespectful if Atkinson didn't do a good job?Or Fergie should get him a bottle of red wine after the disgraceful performance?
You need to have your head examined.Apparently your brains swapped places with your rectum.When you see a doctor to get that anomaly corrected,get back to me.I'm going for lunch.

(Eastbay):

Dumb and dumber re-incarnate.
So why are you saying Fergie is disrespectful if Atkinson didn't do a good job?Or Fergie should get him a bottle of red wine after the disgraceful performance?
You need to have your head examined.Apparently your brains swapped places with your rectum.When you see a doctor to get that anomaly corrected,get back to me

UTD fans are good with words sha! . .Kelechuckwu, clap for yourself. well done! , No wonder SAF is baggn touch line bans!. . let me say it again. . "A lot of managers dont result to personal attacks on referees at post match interviews when decisions go against them, They show how unhappy they are with the decisions without resulting to personal attacks on the referee". .

If you call a referee unfair way before he even reffed a game for you, does that show any respect for the match officials?. If a manager of his stature can say such what do you expect from his players?.

This is not a matter of ref did a bad job. . it is a matter of handling ur complaints carefully. . .
Abeg, he should keep makeing such complaints and bagging the touch line bans. . no leles!. .advantage to the oppsosition!

Looks like Rio is out for d rest of d season. We need Vidic to stay fit & on d pitch for d remaining of our fixtures to avoid serious defensive problems.

@Lalaboiy
Stop right there

A REF who has failed in his duties deserve no respect. The match was won and lost cos a certain REF decided to be bad so what do you expect SAF to do? Keep quiet? The REF wasn't fair and that calling a spade a spade

Jose, Arsene and other notable coaches have all said things like that so what are you saying

What did Wenger say about d Coach that handled Barca vs Arsenal?

U guys need to relax, digest issues and stop making comments that are not informed

FA is simply on a witchhunt and they have caught SAF below the belt, SAF was right in his senses to complain and he did. So, if a 5 match ban is the punishment for what he did, then somebody halleluyah!!

Ese adupe

lalaboi:

UTD fans are good with words sha! . .Kelechuckwu, clap for yourself. well done! , No wonder SAF is baggn touch line bans!. . let me say it again. . "A lot of managers dont result to personal attacks on referees at post match interviews when decisions go against them, They show how unhappy they are with the decisions without resulting to personal attacks on the referee". .

If you call a referee unfair way before he even reffed a game for you, does that show any respect for the match officials?. If a manager of his stature can say such what do you expect from his players?.

This is not a matter of ref did a bad job. . it is a matter of handling your complaints carefully. . .
Abeg, he should keep makeing such complaints and bagging the touch line bans. . no leles!. .advantage to the oppsosition!

I get your point even though I disagree. But SAF made his comments about d ref after his performance not before. Also d full quote of what he said was "You want a fair referee, or a strong referee anyway - and we didn't get that,". Fair or strong referee is not a statement I see as personally attacking a referee, particularly when it has a factual basis. When Daglish called Howard Webb's performance at O.T during d fa cup "a joke", why was that not interpreted as a personal attack. Does such a statement show respect for match officials. D punishment doesn't fit d crime.

There is a difference in saying the referee got many calls wrong and saying that he is not a fair referee. The latter implies that he is intentionally showing bias towards the opposition, while the former is saying he made mistakes, something no one is immune from.

Fergie isn't in Atkinson's head so he can't attack his fintegrity as a referee - he should simply have said the ref screwed up, which is what Wenger said after Barca to the cameras, although he said some more juicy things to the ref in person.

Unfortunately, Fergie lost his head a bit and used the wrong phrase and the FA got a much desired opportunity to 'nail' him and show they aren't weak. There's hope though, Arsene got a 12 match ban in 2000 and appealed so it was reduced to a 1 match ban.

lalaboi:

UTD fans are good with words sha! . .Kelechuckwu, clap for yourself.  well done! ,   No wonder SAF is baggn touch line bans!. . let me say it again. . "A lot of managers dont result to personal attacks on referees at post match interviews when decisions go against them, They show how unhappy they are with the decisions without resulting to personal attacks on the referee". .

If you call a referee unfair way before he even reffed a game for you, does that show any respect for the match officials?. If a manager of his stature can say such what do you expect from his players?.

This is not a matter of ref did a bad job. . it is a matter of handling your complaints carefully. . .
Abeg, he should keep makeing such complaints and bagging the touch line bans. . no leles!. .advantage to the oppsosition!

stop embarrassing yourself before i call you a simpleton.

when fergie ignores the media(bbc), he gets fined. when he speaks to the media, he gets fined. can this man ever win? where is the consistency? in this day and age of freedom of speech, a manager gets fined for speaking his mind? how is the fa any different from gaddahfi of libya in their dictatorship? referees make horrible decisions that have cost managers their job, decisions that have made managers tear up players' contracts and yet the fa don't want them accountable for their senseless decisions? players give interviews, managers give interviews. why can't the referees be made to give interviews why they make some decisions - i think they will earn their respect by doing that.

as for fergie's comments, what did he say that hasn't be said before by the other managers in the league?

tony pulis – “Surprised to see Mike Dean back on one of our games with his record against Stoke.” No punishment.

roberto mancini – “It’s normal – the big club usually has different treatment.” No punishment.

sir alex ferguson – “We want a fair ref, a strong ref anyway, we didn’t get that. When I saw who was reffing it I feared the worst.” 5 match ban, £30k fine

i ask again, where is the consistency?

sir alex ferguson banned from the dug-out in wembley(against man city) by the fa, whose new chairman is david bernstein. . .the ex-man city chairman! how dramatic!!!

@debosky
Good point

SAF played into their hands. They have been looking for ways to silence him and he (SAF) didn't manage himself well

What he did tho shouldn't attract any kind of ban

The REF wasn't fair! Simple

debosky:

There is a difference in saying the referee got many calls wrong and saying that he is not a fair referee. The latter implies that he is intentionally showing bias towards the opposition, while the former is saying he made mistakes, something no one is immune from.

Fergie isn't in Atkinson's head so he can't attack his fintegrity as a referee - he should simply have said the ref screwed up, which is what Wenger said after Barca to the cameras, although he said some more juicy things to the ref in person.

Unfortunately, Fergie lost his head a bit and used the wrong phrase and the FA got a much desired opportunity to 'nail' him and show they aren't weak. There's hope though, Arsene got a 12 match ban in 2000 and appealed so it was reduced to a 1 match ban.

DAMN   . What did say to deserve that?

montelik:

I get your point even though I disagree. But SAF made his comments about d ref after his performance not before. Also d full quote of what he said was "You want a fair referee, or a strong referee anyway - and we didn't get that,". Fair or strong referee is not a statement I see as personally attacking a referee, particularly when it has a factual basis. When Daglish called Howard Webb's performance at O.T during d fa cup "a joke", why was that not interpreted as a personal attack. Does such a statement show respect for match officials. D punishment doesn't fit d crime.

This nko?
"When I saw who the referee was I did fear it. I feared the worst.". . isnt that worth a punsihment. . Its bullying!

debosky:

There is a difference in saying the referee got many calls wrong and saying that he is not a fair referee. The latter implies that he is intentionally showing bias towards the opposition, while the former is saying he made mistakes, something no one is immune from.

Fergie isn't in Atkinson's head so he can't attack his fintegrity as a referee - he should simply have said the ref screwed up, which is what Wenger said after Barca to the cameras, although he said some more juicy things to the ref in person.

Unfortunately, Fergie lost his head a bit and used the wrong phrase and the FA got a much desired opportunity to 'nail' him and show they aren't weak. There's hope though, Arsene got a 12 match ban in 2000 and appealed so it was reduced to a 1 match ban.

Ori e pe debo!. .What mr Eastbay failed to understand!

tony pulis – “Surprised to see Mike Dean back on one of our games with his record against Stoke.” No punishment.

What is the record Pulis is talking about? Pulis' statement is open to interpretation, and is simply saying he is 'surprised'. Without a direct accusation, he can easily backtrack.

roberto mancini – “It’s normal – the big club usually has different treatment.” No punishment.

Another statement open to interpretation, and an expression of a personal opinion. Different treatment with respect to what? Officials? Timing of games or what? Without a direct accusation against an official, he can easily backtrack as well.

sir alex ferguson – “We want a fair ref, a strong ref anyway, we didn’t get that. When I saw who was reffing it I feared the worst.” 5 match ban, £30k fine

This is an explicit statement saying that he never expected the referee to have a fair game and that the referee is NOT fair - it deserves a ban and a swift one at that. If the biggest coach in the land is allowed to mouth off at officials in that manner, refs all over the country are going to be in trouble.

An oblique or even partly indirect comment would have escaped censure, but saying the ref is NOT fair means he should never ref again. Unless you expect the FA to agree with a comment that one of their best officials should be stopped from reffing games.

Fair could mean showing an equal hand e.g If you were supposed to split an item equally between my self and another individual and I felt d other got a greater portion than me I would say " split you made wasn't fair". But does that automatically mean I am accusing of bias, of collecting egunje from d other fellow.   No it could simply mean I don't see d split you made as equal.

D FA is mind reading and distorting what he said so they can charge him. D problem is that now any criticism of a refs performance can now be twisted to mean challenging his integrity.