Man U Manager Alex Ferguson Charged With Earnestly Complimenting A Referee

Sir Alex Ferguson, manager of Manchester United who recently served a five-game suspension and paid a £30,000 fine for criticizing a referee after a 2-1 loss in March, has once again been charged with improper conduct for publicly speaking about a referee.

The offending remarks: "We are getting the best referee, there is no doubt about that."

We know what you're thinking: Oh no. He didn't. The FA prohibits any manager from speaking about a referee before a match, even when it is innocuous and complimentary and probably a response to a reporter's question. But it's all about the strict enforcement of respect. Ferguson likely won't see another ban, and he has until May 16 to respond to the charges. Man U hosts Blackburn tomorrow at 7:45 am ET.

For the record, Ferguson went on to say that "[getting a bad decision] is definitely our big fear. We have the players to do it all right. We just hope it's our turn for a little bit of luck."

None so far.

FA charges Ferguson over referee Howard Webb comments [BBC]