• 'I apologise for any embarrassment I may have
caused'
• But Utd boss says he was right that referees aren't fit
enough
Alex Ferguson makes his point to the referee Alan
Wiley. Photograph: Barry Coombs/EMPICS Sport
Sir Alex Ferguson
has apologised to referee Alan Wiley for "any personal
embarrassment" caused by his attack on the official's fitness after
last week's match between Manchester United
and Sunderland at
Old Trafford.
However the United manager has insisted that he was right to
highlight the "serious issues in the game, namely the fitness level
of referees."
The row erupted immediately after last week's 2-2 draw when
Ferguson questioned whether Wiley had the necessary fitness to take
charge of a Premier League match and claimed that
at periods during the game he needed a rest.
The attack outraged referees, who have put the Football
Association under pressure to take tough action when they review
the case, having now asked Ferguson for an explanation.
But Ferguson has already decided it was not the wisest choice of
words. "I apologise to Mr Wiley for any personal embarrassment my
comments may have caused and to the FA for going public with my
views," he said. "In retrospect I accept that they could be deemed
as expressing those views in an inappropriate form.
"It was never my intention to bring the focus of intense media
interest on Mr Wiley and I will apologise to him personally when I
return from an overseas trip during the international break."
Only two weeks previously Ferguson had been seen joking with
Wiley on the touchline immediately after Michael Owen's
controversial winner in the six minutes of added time against
Manchester City.
As opposed to the view given in last week's outburst, the United
manager insists he still has a high regard for Wiley. "I wish it to
be noted that I have always respected Mr Wiley's integrity and I
did not mean to imply that 1) Mr Wiley is a bad referee, 2) that he
was in any way biased, 3) that decisions he made during the game
were wrong and 4) that he missed any important incidents in the
game.
"My only intention in speaking publicly was to highlight what I
believed to be serious issues in the game, namely the fitness
levels of referees."