SIR Alex Ferguson has admitted refereeing inconsistency will probably always be part of football.
At the weekend, Ferguson felt veteran midfielder Paul Scholes was unjustly sent off during Manchester United's Premier League victory at Tottenham.
Yet, a couple of hours earlier, Emmanuel Adebayor had stayed on the pitch despite catching Robin van Persie on the side of his head with a boot, then charging the full length of the field to celebrate right in front of furious Arsenal fans following his goal for Manchester City in their 4-1 win.
Adebayor must wait until tomorrow to discover whether he will face any extra sanction for his conduct.
However, Ferguson knows there is little that can be done to eradicate inconsistency among match officials.
"I am not going into every incident and whether the player should, or should not have been sent off," he said, side-stepping the Adebayor incident.
"But there has always been inconsistency in football. That is part of the game.
"It is unfortunate. You don't like to see inconsistencies but they do happen."
Two days on from the ninth red card of Scholes' career, Ferguson continues to insist the former England man was harshly treated.
The United boss has watched the clash with Tom Huddlestone again that referee Andre Marriner felt was worthy of a second yellow card that rules him out of this weekend's Manchester derby.
And the Scot is convinced Marriner got it wrong.
"It was a bad decision," he said.
"The atmosphere and the reaction of the Tottenham players did not help. But the referee made a quick decision. If he had waited a few seconds he may have made a different decision."
In this instance, Ferguson does not feel Scholes' reputation for 'agricultural' challenges got him into trouble.
"It is because it is Paul Scholes," he said.
"Unfortunately, he has that reputation. He does have clumsy tackles at times. But that wasn't one.
"He didn't make contact with the player at all. He lifted his leg above the player. If anything it was his finger that caught him in the face.
"Overall, it is pretty disappointing."
Yet, a couple of hours earlier, Emmanuel Adebayor had stayed on the pitch despite catching Robin van Persie on the side of his head with a boot, then charging the full length of the field to celebrate right in front of furious Arsenal fans following his goal for Manchester City in their 4-1 win.
Adebayor must wait until tomorrow to discover whether he will face any extra sanction for his conduct.
However, Ferguson knows there is little that can be done to eradicate inconsistency among match officials.
"I am not going into every incident and whether the player should, or should not have been sent off," he said, side-stepping the Adebayor incident.
"But there has always been inconsistency in football. That is part of the game.
"It is unfortunate. You don't like to see inconsistencies but they do happen."
Two days on from the ninth red card of Scholes' career, Ferguson continues to insist the former England man was harshly treated.
The United boss has watched the clash with Tom Huddlestone again that referee Andre Marriner felt was worthy of a second yellow card that rules him out of this weekend's Manchester derby.
And the Scot is convinced Marriner got it wrong.
"It was a bad decision," he said.
"The atmosphere and the reaction of the Tottenham players did not help. But the referee made a quick decision. If he had waited a few seconds he may have made a different decision."
In this instance, Ferguson does not feel Scholes' reputation for 'agricultural' challenges got him into trouble.
"It is because it is Paul Scholes," he said.
"Unfortunately, he has that reputation. He does have clumsy tackles at times. But that wasn't one.
"He didn't make contact with the player at all. He lifted his leg above the player. If anything it was his finger that caught him in the face.
"Overall, it is pretty disappointing."
Copyright (c) Press Association
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