Fergie blasts Clattenburg
25 Nov 2007 - 11:23:24
Sir Alex Ferguson launched a stinging attack on referee Mark Clattenburg after Manchester United's surprise 1-0 defeat at Bolton Wanderers.
United lost in the league for only the second time this season after Nicloas Anelka's first-half winner at the Reebok Stadium.
Ferguson was forced to watch the second half from the stands after confronting Clattenburg at half-time and afterwards the veteran Scot pulled no punches in his assessment of the official.
He fumed: "I told the referee what I thought, some referees don't like that. They don't like the truth.
"But I just told him how bad he was in the first half.
"I know Bolton are battling for their lives at the bottom but they were a bit aggressive and we were looking for some protection from the referee.
"The first half was just a shambles. It was foul after foul after foul. I felt they were over-physical and there were two or three really dodgy tackles.
"You hope the referee is strong enough to handle it, but he wasn't."