Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and his assistant Carlos Queiroz have both denied FA charges of improper conduct for criticism of referee Martin Atkinson after their FA Cup defeat at the hands of Portsmouth.
Ferguson in particular was scathing in his criticism of the refereeing system as a whole, ignoring the referee on the day and instead singling out referees’ chief Keith Hackett for not doing his job properly, with too many poor refereeing performances going unpunished.
Queiroz, in turn, branded Atkinson a ‘robber’ due to his arguable lack of protection of United players - particularly Cristiano Ronaldo - after some physical play from opponents Pompey.
Neither had been expected to appeal their respective charges, as they were so unrestrained in their criticism of the officials, but the pair have elected to exercise their right to personal hearings, the dates for which have yet to be set.
Derek Wanner, Goal.com
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