6 controversies Sir Alex Ferguson had as Manchester United manager
Widely revered as one of the greatest managers in the history of football, Sir Alex Ferguson is undoubtedly the greatest Manchester United manager of all time and on a larger scale the Premier League as well.
With 49 major honours won, the legendary Scotsman is one of the most successful managers of all time and was deservedly knighted for his services to the British kingdom in 1999.
The mere mention of his name attracts instant reverence anywhere in the world and he is universally acclaimed by even rival fans for his contributions to the round leather game.
However, for all his greatness, Sir Alex Ferguson was not without his flaws, having been embroiled in a couple of controversies during his day. In this piece, we would be taking a look at six high profile controversies which Sir Alex Ferguson had as Manchester United manager.
Dishonourable mentions - Calling Manchester City the Noisy Neighbours, saying he wouldn't sell Real Madrid a virus (months before selling Ronaldo to them).
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#6 Constant clashes with referees
A common theme associated with Sir Alex Ferguson throughout his tenure as Manchester United boss was his constant criticism of match referees, with the Scotsman not afraid of calling the officials all sorts of names when he felt they had been below par.
Many people believed that his greatness gave him a sense of entitlement from referees, as he often indicated to match officials that a certain number of minutes should be added to injury time especially when his team was behind (mostly by pointing to his watch), leading to the coinage of the term 'Fergie Time'.
Ferguson received a total of 15-match touchline bans and fines totalling £75,000 for insulting and/or abusive words towards match officials.
Some of the more disparaging remarks made by Fergie towards referees include questioning the fitness of referee Alan Wiley in 2009 (for which he received a four-match ban), accusing Martin Atkinson of being unfair to his team (received a five-match ban) as well as insulting Mark Clattenburg after a Premier League match in 2007 among others.