Fergie to escape FA charge

Posted Monday, November 28, 2011 by The Sun

Fergie to escape FA charge
HAT'S WRONG ... Ferdinand gets ball but is ruled to have fouled Toon's Hatem Ben Arfa

ALEX FERGUSON looks set to escape punishment for his blast of the match officials in Manchester United's draw with Newcastle on Saturday.

Ferguson slaughtered referee Mike Jones and linesman John Flynn after they awarded the Magpies a 64th-minute penalty which lead to their equaliser.

The FA will look at his comments today but because they are not personal, abusive or question the officials integrity no action is set to be taken.

Jones was the man in the middle because Phil Dowd became ill before the game.

The replacement ref initially gave a corner when Rio Ferdinand tackled Hatem Ben Arfa.

But assistant Flynn signalled for a spot-kick and, after consultation, Jones changed his mind and Demba Ba netted.

Red Devils boss Ferguson fumed: "I didn't think anyone in the ground thought it was a penalty, apart from the assistant referee. The referee thought it was a corner. He was nearer to it.

"He was only eight yards away. It was an absolute travesty. Everyone, including the referee, was astounded.

"He was put in a terrible position. Why can't the referee overrule it when he is only eight yards away?"

Ferguson claimed that because assistants are only part-time officials they get things wrong.

He said: "The problem is that the referees are full-time and the linesmen are not, and whether he ever gets a game again, the assistant referee, is not for me to decide but it was an absolutely shocking decision."

Now Ferguson fears the decision could come back to haunt United, who are five points behind City, in the push for the title.

Fergie remembered an offside decision that went against them when Chelsea won at Old Trafford in April 2010 before the Blues went on to claim the championship.

He said: "It costs you. Two years ago when the linesman gave the offside goal against Chelsea, it cost us the league.
Hopefully we're not saying that in May." Three managers have been charged with improper conduct this season for comments about officials.

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew was charged in September over comments he made about Howard Webb before the derby game with Sunderland.

He pleaded not guilty and received a warning.

Stoke's Tony Pulis was fined £10,000 and warned about his future conduct for his comments about Lee Probert following his side's Carling Cup defeat to Liverpool last month.

Chelsea's Andre Villas-Boas had to fork out £12,000 for hammering ref Chris Foy after the Blues' recent 1-0 loss at QPR.

Patrice Evra says United should blame themselves for not beating Newcastle — not the referee.

The left-back said: "If you want to win the league, you have to score more goals.

"No, it wasn't a penalty. I think it was a difficult decision against us but the referee was responsible and he went to see the linesman to say: 'Are you sure?' He said: 'Yes, it's a penalty' and the referee trusts his man. We have to be more focused on how many chances we missed.

"I'm very frustrated we didn't win. Against Arsenal, we created eight chances and scored eight. Here, we had maybe seven chances and only one goal. That's football.

"There's a long way to go and I'm confident if the team keeps playing that well, I'm convinced we're going to win the league."