Sir Alex Ferguson slams referee as Manchester United lose to Chelsea•


Dominic Fifield at Stamford Bridge The Guardian, Wed 2 Mar 2011 00.07 GMTSir Alex Ferguson launched a scathing attack on the referee Martin Atkinson, questioning the official's appointment for this fixture and effectively casting doubt on his integrity, after Chelsea beat Manchester United 2-1 to prise open the title race.The United manager was left livid after Atkinson failed to dismiss David Luiz for a series of fouls committed by the Brazilian defender, only one of which earned him a booking. The visitors ended up reduced to 10 themselves when Nemanja Vidic was sent off in stoppage time, leaving them without both the Serb and the injured England captain, Rio Ferdinand, for Sunday's trip to Liverpool.Ferguson, whose side now sit four points clear of Arsenal having played a game more, had been spared the loss of Wayne Rooney for this fixture despite the striker's apparent elbow on Wigan's James McCarthy at the weekend but has now courted potential sanction from the Football Association himself. "You hope you get a really strong referee in games like this," he said. "It was a major game for both clubs and you want a fair referee, you know , You want a strong referee, anyway, and we didn't get that."Atkinson has officiated 12 games at Stamford Bridge, with Chelsea winning 11, and was in charge of the equivalent fixture last season in which United disputed the award of a free-kick against Darren Fletcher from which John Terry scored the game's only goal. Asked whether he was surprised that the same referee was appointed for this match, Ferguson said: "Exactly, exactly. I don't know why he's got the game. I must say that, when I saw who was refereeing it, I feared the worst."Ferguson disputed the award of the 80th-minute penalty as "so soft" but his main complaints centred on David Luiz's three challenges, the first of which floored Javier Hernández some three minutes after the Chelsea defender had drawn them level. That went unpunished, with

lol,

Only Sir Alex F-word can launch a scathing attack on any referee. Its sad he cannot be just gracious in defeat, the fact is that the better team on the night won and yeah, there were some poor decisions but Man-utd have been the biggest beneficiaries of biased or poor decisions. Our prayer is that these decisions even out over the course of the season.

Big ups to the damn Chavs. This result may be the turning point of their season and should the Mancs lose to Liverpool and Chelsea beat Blackpool this weekend, those who have ruled them out of the title race may need to have a rethink.

HAHAHAHAH . . . . .That man is funny anyway . . . . . .UP BLUES.

he is only suffering from old age. was rooney surpposed to be in that game in the first place if not for funny officiating? rooney that elbowed a wigan player in their last match was supposed to be sent off leaving man u with 10 players for that game.
had it been rooney was sent off, man u wld have lost that game and rooney for no play against chelsea and that his goal against chelsea for no stand.
yeye old man. if he not retire voluntarily, heart attack will do that for him.
as a knight and a sportsman, he must learn to accept defeat.