Sir Alex Ferguson claims Michael Ballack should have been
sent off in the FA Community Shield as Chelsea beat Manchester
United on penalties.
The United manager was in no doubt the "deciding" moment of the
match came in the build-up to Chelsea's second goal on 70
minutes.
Substitute Ballack appeared to elbow Patrice Evra as the
full-back charged down the left flank - but with the United player
down, Foy allowed play to continue as Chelsea broke quickly, with
Frank Lampard's shot beating Ben Foster.
Although the Premier League champions, who took the lead through
Nani, forced a penalty shoot-out when Wayne Rooney slotted home in
stoppage-time, Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech was the hero with two
saves.
Ferguson, who saw Nani go off with an injured shoulder, believes
Foy should have intervened when Evra was left flat out on the
Wembley turf.
"I think the referee has made a rod for his own back," said the
United boss.
"He stopped the game twice, first when Nani was down, then on
the second occasion Ballack has gone down, which we have seen
before with him.
"I asked the referee, he said he thought it was a serious
incident, and he thought the player needed treatment, whereas he
[Ballack] was up right away.
"Once he has done that, I do not understand why he has not
stopped the game when Evra is lying down?
"With a replay you can see Ballack has elbowed the boy, and if
the referee had seen it properly, it is a red card.
"The referee is in line with it, and should have at least
stopped the game, but he did not.
"Of course, then they went on and scored the second goal.
"It is hard to blame the Chelsea players, because it is a
professional game.
"But it is making it very difficult for referees [to know] when
players are acting to get the game stopped.
"It is an area I am concerned about and we have got to find a
solution to that part."
Ferguson continued: "If we are putting the responsibility back
on the referees and they are deciding when the games should be
stopped, then fine.
"He has got to be correct in that respect. As we saw today, he
never got it quite right.
"You have to be consistent."
Portugal midfielder Nani impressed, but Ferguson revealed he
could now be set for a spell on the sidelines.
"We could not put the shoulder back in, so that is the worrying
part for us," said Ferguson, who has had to reshape his attack
following the summer departures of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos
Tevez.
"He had done very well, and we are very pleased with his
performance."
Ferguson felt United should have put the game beyond Chelsea
following their dominant first half, with defender Ricardo Carvalho
eventually pulling the FA Cup winners back in it on 52 minutes.
"We should really have put the game to bed," he said.
"The equaliser really knocked us back, and at that point Chelsea
were the better team.
"The second goal was the deciding factor."
Ferguson added: "We should have been three or four goals up.
When you get chances in big matches and do not take them, you can
suffer and we did today."
For new Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti, it was a first piece of
silverware in English football.
The Italian coach made several tactical changes during the
second half, which paid off.
"We found it difficult, but we were better in the second half
when we put more strength on the pitch. In the end, we deserved to
win," Ancelotti said.
"It was an important start to the season and now we have to
continue to work and improve.
"I like the mental attitude of the players and the organisation
of the club.
"We are now ready to start a very important season and want to
do the best.
"This result is important because it proves our
possibilities."
On the controversy in the build-up to the second goal, the
Chelsea manager said: "The referee can stop the play and also the
players can put the ball out.
"However, for sure they did not see Evra down on the pitch,
because a Chelsea player would put the ball out if they saw an
opponent down."