Ferguson banned for criticizing referee's fitness

WEMBLEY, England(AP) — Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson
was banned for four games and fined $32,000 Thursday for
criticizing the fitness of a referee after a Premier League
game.

Ferguson received the punishment when he appeared before a
Football Association disciplinary panel at Wembley Stadium on a
misconduct charge.

After his team tied 2-2 with Sunderland on Oct. 3, Ferguson said
referee Alan Wiley was not fit enough to handle the game.
Although he later apologized, the FA banned Ferguson from the
bench for two domestic games and left two more suspended until
the end of the 2010-11 season.

Ferguson will need to monitor his conduct or the remaining
two-game ban will be enforced.

“The Commission considered his admitted remarks, in the context
in which they were made, were not just improper but were grossly
improper and wholly inappropriate,” said Peter Griffiths,
chairman of the disciplinary panel.

Ferguson said in a TV interview after the game he was concerned
about Wiley’s fitness.

“He just wasn’t fit enough for a game of that standard,” the
United manager said. “The fitness of the players, the pace of
the game demanded a referee who was fit. He took 30 seconds to
book a player, I think he’s taking a rest writing down names on
his card.”

Ferguson apologized for “any personal embarrassment” by
criticizing Wiley, but maintained that the fitness levels of
referees did not match the demands of the modern game.