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Fergie apologises to Wiley

10 Oct 2009 - 12:28:39

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Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has apologised to Alan Wiley after criticising the referee last weekend for his poor fitness levels.

In the wake of United's 2-2 draw with Sunderland at Old Trafford last Saturday evening, the veteran Scot said that he thought Wiley was 'not fit enough for a game of that standard' and accused him of 'walking up the pitch for the second goal needing a rest'.

Despite apologising for the comments, Ferguson still believes the general fitness levels of officials in the Premier League is not up to standard.

In a statement issued on United's official website, Ferguson said: "I apologise to Mr Wiley for any personal embarrassment that my remarks may have caused and to the FA for going public with my views.

"In retrospect, I accept that this could be deemed as expressing those views in an inappropriate forum.

"It was never my intention to bring the focus of intense media attention on Mr Wiley. I intend to contact him personally after I return from a trip overseas during this international break.

"I'd wish it to be noted that I've always respected Mr Wiley's integrity and that I didn't state or imply that Mr Wiley is a bad referee, that he was in any way biased, that decision-making generally during the game was poor, or that he missed any key incident during the game.

"My only intention in speaking publicly was to highlight what I believe to be a serious and important issue in the game, namely that the fitness levels of referees must match the ever-increasing demands of the modern game, which I hope will now be properly addressed through the appropriate formal channels."