Carroll lucky not to see red - Sir Alex

Manchester United moved an inch closer to the 20th title after being held to a 2-2 draw yesterday at Upton Park.

Sir Alex criticized referee Lee Probert for failing to award Andy Carroll a red-card for a challenge on David De Gea which had flattened the goalkeeper temporarily.

“It was a red card, there is no doubt about that,” Ferguson said. “The referee did see it but he didn’t see it as a red card. We know how West Ham play, it’s ball-in-the-air most of the time and you’ve got to defend those things. They are very, very aggressive as we’ve seen tonight. You hope there’s a strong referee. I’m not so sure we got that tonight.

“We had to stand up to a lot there but we kept going, our players, down twice, came back . They played like champions. They were magnificent in terms of determination and courage to play, so I was pleased with the result.”

Manchester United captain, Nemanja Vidic was also unhappy with Carroll for using his elbow during the game and both the players were seen arguing as they were leaving the pitch.

However, Carroll seemed to be happy with his game and said:

“I was running straight in and I couldn’t stop at that moment,”

“I enjoyed it. It was a great battle: getting a few elbows and giving a few. It is all part of the game.”

Source: Guardian