It is one thing, in the emotional aftermath of defeat at Stamford Bridge, to accuse a referee of being weak and unfair. And quite another to stand by the claim in the cold light of morning. For Sir Alex Ferguson to reiterate it in Manchester United’s match programme on Saturday — 11 days on — was truly disturbing: childishness of the worst kind.
That Martin Atkinson is fair, for all that he seemed over-lenient to David Luiz as Chelsea beat United, cannot be questioned. He is no more my favourite referee than Ferguson’s, but his occupation is to administer fair play and he has become an elite exponent of it. There is nothing to debate and Ferguson should not have used that word, as he appeared to acknowledge in hastily adding that a referee should be “strong, anyway”.
But you cannot just pretend that you didn’t say something. Ask Ferguson’s predecessor as United manager. When Ron Atkinson carelessly referred to Marcel Desailly as a “lazy n*****” believing that the microphones were off, he was not able to avoid a thoroughly deserved avalanche of opprobrium by substituting “less than assertive defender on this occasion” and accepted that his career as a broadcaster was, to all intents and purposes, over.
Ferguson, for a much less grave — albeit intentional — offence, simply had to apologise for the slur on Atkinson’s integrity. Instead his notes before the FA Cup tie against Arsenal exuded defiance as, like Perón addressing the faithful from the balcony, he wrote: “I don’t think sticking up for my team makes me a villain.” You could almost hear the roars from the square as, declaring that he faced an FA charge for “simply telling the truth���, Ferguson promised to “defend myself strongly”.
For a man to be staggering around as if intoxicated by what he perceives to be power is bound to make an undignified sight at any age, let alone one’s 70th year. Not that Ferguson gives any impression of caring about appearances.
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Not that he manifests a hint of the self-examination evident in Sir Bobby Robson when the great man said: “Let me tell you what happens to successful managers ... it happens to all of us ... this power, this control you have over people, becomes ingrained into you. You use your position to be more powerful. More powerful than you basically are.”
It is a pity, too, that Sir Matt Busby is no longer around gently to indicate the collateral damage Ferguson’s rantings do to a game reliant on trust in the impartiality of match officials whose decisions will one day favour a United player, such as Wayne Rooney when he elbowed James McCarthy in the match away to Wigan Athletic, and the next an opponent such as Luiz when he halts Rooney with impunity.
It has been allowed too long. Far from mellowing with age, Ferguson has become even more insistent on his own way as footballing authority — which once, in Scotland, tried to keep him under a measure of control — has gone on the retreat, cowering behind lawyers when it should be acting as the game’s police force.
And so we wait to see what the FA will do about this case. First, however, it is important to understand why Ferguson has asked for a personal hearing. He often has done this when asked for his observations by the FA, and with considerable success.
For all his faults, he is a very clever man and unlikely to go in with guns blazing as those programme notes may suggest.
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Instead the members of the disciplinary commission can expect to be wrongfooted, charmed and perhaps flattered by treatment as equal football men, all in this wonderful game together and, of course, cognisant of the need for a slap on the wrist but without pandering to those awful commentators in the media who call for heavy punishment.
It has worked before and, given that the FA shows no sign of the robustness and courage required to apply the admirable “Respect” campaign to the professional game as well as the grass roots, may work again, in which case a paraphrased version of Old Trafford’s most delightful ditty for a while — “We’re Man United, we’ll do what we want” — might as well be framed and hung on the organisation’s walls.
Ferguson is guilty. The only issue is how long he should be banished from the touchline. The starting point must be the suspended two-match ban imposed last season after he had all but accused Alan Wiley of being physically unfit to referee at Barclays Premier League level. Ferguson did not question Wiley’s fairness, so this is a much more serious offence. To be conservative, it is three times more serious. Six matches plus two, then, would appear proportionate.
United have at least one more match and possibly two to play in the FA Cup so their manager would be back in the dugout in time for what promises to be a glorious culmination to the domestic season: a Double, perhaps. And he might come back with a civil tongue in his head. Then we could all join in the celebrations, toasting not just United but the calibre of the game.
Mourinho for Spurs? Not likely
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If only Tottenham Hotspur had been granted their wish to redevelop the Olympic Stadium site. They could aspire to bring José Mourinho back to London to complete the job, so handsomely started by Harry Redknapp, of building a club to compare to any in Europe.
But we all know about the Olympic Stadium. West Ham United are to have it, running track and all, until it rusts like any old iron. Tottenham are back on square one, with their delightful but undersized ground and the loss of Redknapp to England looking only a matter of time.
Mourinho might have fancied stepping in there otherwise. He told us 16 months ago — and a report of his restlessness in Madrid appeared on Saturday — that his ambition was to return to England to “build something” on the long-term model of Sir Alex Ferguson’s achievements at Manchester United or Arsène Wenger’s with Arsenal.
White Hart Lane, however, has no immediate prospect of matching Old Trafford or the Emirates Stadium for scale. So the succession to Ferguson would, I am sure, be Mourinho’s first choice.
True, it’s hardly a building job, but it’s a challenge and all about the long term. And Manchester City are not to be ruled out, either.