Breaking News: Sir Alex Ferguson backs referee’s decision
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson backs the decision made by referee Mark Clattenburg to allow Nani’s late goal against Tottenham Hotspurs.
There was immense confusion and disruption in the final minutes of Man United’s 2-0 victory over Spurs. Nani poked in a simple ball into an empty net after Tottenham’s goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes put the ball in his box, thinking
his side was awarded the free-kick. However, that was not the case as the ball was still in play following the referee’s decision to play on after a penalty appeal and hand-ball from the Portuguese winger.
At the time, Sir Alex confessed he too couldn’t understand what went down but after seeing the video footage and listening to his players, the manager believes that the ref’s decision was the right one.
"At the time I had absolutely no idea what had happened! We appealed for the penalty and didn't get it and as Nani fell the ball hit his hand and went into the goalkeeper's arms. At that point the goalkeeper's got control of
the ball and the referee said to play on. The linesman didn't flag until after the goal was scored and I've still no idea why. The referee didn't blow his whistle at all and Nani actually looked at him to check. He said play on, so Nani put the ball in the
net," claimed the United boss.
Ferguson explained that it was the goalkeeper’s fault to have put the ball down, as the player is an experienced one and made total mess out of it. The manager added that all the players have to play according to the whistle,
but Gomes put the ball down to take a free-kick, which was not a free-kick in reality. The manager, therefore, backed the referee’s decision, stating that since the ref had waved play on, the goal stays and it’s the linesman and Gomes who are on fault.
On the topic of United’s current form, Ferguson stated that the victory against Stoke was an important one and that gave a confidence boost to the entire team. The manager added that it was important for United to take the lead
early on and was proud of the classy football his side played against Spurs. The manager hoped that the win against Spurs can keep the morale of the club high and expects the lads to kick off the campaign from this win.
Manchester United are currently 3rd
in the premier league with 20 points and are 5 behind leaders Chelsea. The side would’ve to keep winning crunch fixtures against stronger oppositions in order to stay strong in the league.
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