FA has let Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson
off lightly with five-match touchline ban
For those Manchester United fans complaining that Sir
Alex Ferguson did not deserve to be punished for his comments about
Martin Atkinson, well he hasn’t really. Unlike Uefa’s version, the
Football Association’s touchline ban is not even a proper spell on
the naughty step.
.
Five games appears a lengthy stint but FA restrictions
are actually few. This is not purdah.
Ferguson can address his players before kick-off. He will not
need to be smuggled into the United dressing room at half-time in a
laundry basket or disguised as Fred the Red.
Ferguson can walk from his seat in the directors’ box, wander
through the stand, a free man. He can enter the tunnel area, stroll
into United’s lair, deliver his usual interval talk and administer
any tactical tweaks.
Uefa’s touchline ban is far more stringent, exiling the manager
from his players.
When news broke on Wednesday of Ferguson’s five-game ban,
effectively three plus the suspended two for questioning Alan
Wiley’s fitness in 2009, there were a few oohs and aahs, even
glowing commendations of the FA’s apparent toughness.
At last, and not before time, it seemed the authorities were
clamping down on the sort of serial dissent and post-match derision
from managers such as Ferguson that makes some referees consider
taking up a less stressful occupation, like lion-taming.
The FA’s intentions are admirable enough: to protect referees by
removing the miscreant manager from the officials’ working
environment. The blazers want to minimise Ferguson’s contact with
officials but not stop him working with his players.
So Ferguson cannot set foot in the technical area. Yet he can
bump into referees in the tunnel before the game, at half-time and
afterwards.
According to the FA, the onus of responsibility is on Ferguson
not to interact with officials. Self-policing in modern football.
Ambitious.
This is not a proper punishment for Ferguson; this is a minor
re-jigging of his match-day seating arrangements.
As for that £30,000 fine, which incredibly the FA believes is a
strong one, it will never be a deterrent to a multi-millionaire
such as Ferguson.
If the FA seriously wanted to tackle outbursts it considered
damaging to the integrity of referees then it would ban the manager
from the stadium on matchday. That would have an impact on the
manager’s ability to manage.
For a second offence by the manager (with the same club) the FA
should deduct a point. But it won’t because the Premier League is
too powerful, and club lawyers too sharp.
So are United harmed? Not really. The FA has unwittingly given
Ferguson and United a cause.
The Scot is the master at circling the wagons, and he will be
using this FA sanction to stoke United’s fire even more.
Always beware a team driven by a sense of injustice. Ferguson
will drive them hard.
