The Alan Wiley drama finally came to a head with the FA charging Sir Alex with improper conduct for questioning Wiley's fitness levels. It could impose a fine and a touchline ban.
"He just wasn't fit enough for a game of that standard," Ferguson said. "The fitness of the players, the pace of the game demanded a referee who was fit. He took 30 seconds to book a player, I think he's taking a rest writing down names on his card."
Or maybe there were too many foreign sounding names and he was trying to get the spelling right or the pen was not flowing freely on a cold October morning.
This season has already had its share of refereeing controversies and there might be a besieged feeling on the part of the referees association. The Europa fixtures with two additional referees has already come in for criticism. Questioning match fitness levels of referees really adds insult to injury.
Ferguson will probably get a harsh ban for this, and I won't really be opposed to that, as he was foolish to make his directly after a poor United result. However, I think the biggest problem with this situation is that the referees are acting like children and refuse to accept any criticism.
Maybe, if they're so sensitive about being called unfit, they should at least make the effort to look like they're in shape. People who are close to 50 will need to be in fantastic shape to keep up with a game that contains the likes of Aaron Lennon, Theo Walcott, Nani, and other quick, counter-attacking players. It seems like a miracle of science that a 49 year old man with a gut and man-breasts could possibly keep up with the likes of those named.