• Manchester United manager said to be unmoved
• MOTD2 refused interview after draw
at Fulham
Sir Alex
Ferguson faces a series of escalating fines, beginning
with a punishment in the region of £1,000, after maintaining his
boycott of the BBC in direct opposition to new
Premier
League rules.
Ferguson's refusal to speak to Match of the Day 2 after
Manchester United's thrilling 2-2 draw at Fulham today
follows weeks of discussions behind the scenes in which he has come
under growing pressure from the Premier League and the League
Managers Association.
United's chief executive, David Gill, has asked Ferguson to
think closely about ending his grudge with the BBC, dating back to
a Panorama documentary in 2004, entitled Father and Son, about the
business activities of his son Jason, who was then working as a
football agent.
The threat of weekly fines appears to have made no difference,
however, with Match of the Day staff told before kick-off at Craven
Cottage that requesting an interview with the United manager would
be pointless.
Ferguson is worth around £22m and the 68-year-old is said to be
largely unmoved by the threat of comparatively small fines.
Instead, he has told colleagues he is waiting for an apology before
he speaks to the BBC again. He has accused the institution in the
past of "breathtaking arrogance".
The matter will now be referred to the Premier League board to
decide the extent of the first fine, with the amount set to rise
every week he continues to ignore the different Match of the Day
shows and Radio 5 Live. Talks will continue behind the scenes and
BBC staff have been told from within Old Trafford that there may
eventually be a change in his position.
In previous years Ferguson was immune to punishment because the
rules requested that managers talk to the broadcast rights-holders
under a "best endeavours" clause. The idea of tightening up the
rules was specifically to tackle Ferguson and was voted in by all
20 Premier League clubs, including United.
The BBC chose not to comment but Gary Lineker, the Match of the
Day host, expressed his belief earlier in the day that it would be
"the amount of the fine which will make his [Ferguson's] mind
up".
Lineker said: "It's a shame. We would like him to speak to us
because we respect him and his teams, and always have done. It
makes no difference to the programme because it's action-led. But
it does make a difference to the Manchester United fans. They are
the ones missing out. I get letters saying: 'We never hear from Sir
Alex,' and I have to explain. It's something he feels very strongly
about, so what can you do?"
The Premier League issued a statement, saying: "The Premier
League is disappointed that the BBC and Manchester United have, as
yet, been unable to resolve the issue of Sir Alex Ferguson
providing post-match interviews.
"We will, of course, continue to monitor the situation and offer
any help deemed necessary by either party to try and help remedy
the situation. However, this is a breach of Premier League rules
and the board will consider the appropriate course of action at
their next meeting scheduled for late September."
Ferguson's opinion about the BBC can be gauged from an interview
in 2007. "The BBC is the kind of company that never apologise, and
they never will apologise," he said. "They did a story about my son
that was a whole lot of nonsense."
