Fuming Fergie slams Wembley surface
Stars axed due to bad surface
Published:
MANCHESTER United manager SIR Alex Ferguson has joined forces with Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger in condemning the Wembley pitch.
Wenger had described the pitch as a “joke” after seeing it cut up as Arsenal lost 2-1 to Chelsea in their FA Cup semi-final on Saturday.
Ferguson’s actions were even more embarrassing for the FA as he revealed he had pulled Paul Scholes, Dimitar Berbatov and Patrice Evra out of the starting line-up for their semi-final defeat against Everton because of the state of the playing surface.
Former Aberdeen FC manager Ferguson played a makeshift team of youngsters and reserves, who battled to a goalless draw after extra-time before losing 4-2 in a penalty shootout.
The United manager said: “When I saw the pitch in the Chelsea v Arsenal semi, what I didn’t want was to go into extra-time with my strongest squad.
“It looked spongy and dead and difficult to move the ball quickly around it. They’ve got all these lights around the perimeter to help the growth and the standard of the soil. But it looks dead to me.”
Ferguson now has to pick up his team for a crucial league match against Portsmouth on Wednesday.
The semi-final hinged on a 69th-minute decision by referee Mike Riley when he denied United a penalty after Phil Jagielka appeared to bring down Danny Welbeck in the penalty area.
Ferguson suggested doubts might have been planted in Riley’s mind by Everton boss Dave Moyes’ claims last week that he was a United supporter.
“I’ve no idea if it affected the decision but you never know,” said Ferguson. “It may have. It can prey on a referee’s mind.
“I’ve seen the video and it looks a penalty kick but, in the importance of the game, the referee probably has to be dead sure.
“When Riley sees it he’ll probably realise he’s made a mistake but I can’t say that’s the reason for us losing.”
Ferguson, who saw Berbatov and Rio Ferdinand have their spot-kicks saved by former United goalkeeper Tim Howard, also claimed he never believed winning five trophies this season was realistic.
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