Referees rage at FA's 'slap on the wrist' for Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson

The referees' union has condemned the FA for giving Sir Alex Ferguson a "slap on the wrist" at his disciplinary hearing.

Alan Leighton, general secretary of the Prospect union claimed that the "Football Association had a chance to make a point and they flunked it", by only giving the United manager a two-match touchline ban.

And Leighton, who represents all match officials in the UK, explained he now wants showdown talks with the game's governing body, to re-examine the punishment meted out to the United boss yesterday.

Prospect had called for Ferguson to be given a UEFA-style 'stadium ban', following the manager's comments about referee Alan Wiley after the match against Sunderland, on October 3.

Instead, an FA disciplinary committee, which met in London for a two-and-a-half-hour hearing into the case yesterday, handed out a four-match touchline ban, with two of those matches suspended until the end of the 2010-11 season, plus a £20,000 fine. 

A fuming Leighton insisted yesterday that the punishment was feeble, and warned that he will now seek urgent talks with the FA to discuss the signals they must send out in support of the Respect campaign for referees.

"After what Sir Alex Ferguson said about Alan Wiley, we were looking for an exemplary penalty, and now we want to talk to the FA about this because we feel it is a hugely important issue," he said.

"What Sir Alex Ferguson said was so fundamental to Alan Wiley's ongoing employment that it could have cost him his job. It was such a serious and unwarranted statement that it really did demand a penalty that said this was beyond the pale.

"Instead, he has effectively been given a two-match ban, which is the same as bans given to managers whose comments are nowhere near as significant. It is a slap on the wrist and we will speak to the FA about a more appropriate punishment." 

Ferguson had accused Wiley of being "unfit to referee a Premier League game", and then widened his criticisms to questions the fitness levels of all referees.

He later twice apologised for his comments, and suggested that the Prospect union was conducting a witch-hunt against him.

In the lengthy hearing, Ferguson, who was represented by the FA's former compliance officer Graham Bean, suggested that his comments were merely designed to open a debate at the fitness tests referees are required to pass, but the issue had grown out of all proportion because of the intervention of the union.

The United boss also argued that Crystal Palace manager Neil Warnock had escaped with only a suspended sentence following a similar criticism of a referee. 

The FA, however, believe that banning the Old Trafford manager from the touchline for comments made after the game in the media has set a strong precedent, with a punishment more severe than in other cases.

But Leighton disagrees. He insisted there is no witch-hunt, but merely a desire to protect referees from what he sees as a dangerous attack on their credibility.

"We were looking for a UEFA-style ban, which would ban him not only from the touchline but the ground before, during and after the match," Leighton said.

"Sir Alex is a person in the game who has such stature, other managers will take into account what he does. If they see that he has just got a slap on the wrist, then they will emboldened to act in the same way.

"This isn't a vendetta. We have been representing referees for four years, and this is the first time we have become involved in an issue where a manager has made comments, and we did so because it is so serious.

"Managers and clubs could have quite easily lost confidence in him if they thought he was genuinely unfit, and it could have cost Alan his job. It attacked his integrity as one of the fittest and one of the best in the Premier League and it was such a serious, unwarranted and untrue statement that it really did demand a penalty that went far beyond the usual punishment."

Peter Griffiths QC, who chaired the  commission, said Ferguson's significant reputation meant he had to take more care when going public with criticism.

"It was made clear to Sir Alex that with such stature comes increased responsibilities. 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.

"He should never have said what he did say."

Ferguson left the meeting 'satisfied' with the hearing, which suggests he is unlikely to appeal against the punishment, and sources within Old Trafford suggested last night they are in fact likely to ask for the ban to be brought forward.

It is due to start in 14 days, which would mean the manager being banished to the crowd in away games at Portsmouth and West Ham, and bringing it forward would mean he could serve one game of the ban at home, in the fixture against Everton.

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