Rooney begins a two-match suspension when he misses United's Premier League encounter with Fulham tomorrow.

The 25-year-old will also sit out United's eagerly-anticipated FA Cup semi-final with Manchester City at Wembley next weekend.

Rooney indicated a belief he was being victimised yesterday. It is a view Ferguson is certain about.

"I don't even need to say that," he said. "It's an obvious trend at the moment.

"The one I feel sorry for is Lee Mason. He has put himself in a terrible position.

"He has been put under pressure. There is no doubt about that.

"It is hard to imagine the referee would send a player off for scoring a hat-trick.

"But he has now put himself in the spotlight. If he doesn't send a player off for swearing the question will be, has he got double standards?

"It is a very difficult position the lad is in. I feel for him. I really do. I don't know where his career is going to go now."

For Superintendent Mark Payne, responsible for managing responses to crime and operations in Wolverhampton, there was rather less sympathy.

Payne courted controversy by claiming in his blog Rooney would have been arrested if his behaviour had taken place on the streets.

Ferguson viewed it as opportunism of the worst kind.

"There is an issue in the modern world of a need to be noticed," he said.

"The days of quiet restaurants have gone. Every restaurant is big and bright now. People all have tattoos, earrings, everything.

"There is a wee guy, sitting down there in the Midlands, probably never been recognised in his life, maybe people don't know he's there, who has managed to elevate himself to whatever it is in the police force.

"But I refuse to believe that in the middle of Wolverhampton on a Saturday night his police get abuse and those people are always arrested.

"Now he is saying they will. Wolverhampton will be an interesting place on a Saturday night."

Ferguson is equally scathing about Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore, whose announcement last week that he was going to demand more respect for officials from players appeared to be the trigger for the FA action.

"They have changed track midway through the season," observed Ferguson.

"Everyone should know where they are at the start of the season but that's not the case now and it is a problem.

"The point that Richard Scudamore came out with last week - it's midstream.

"They have yearly meetings all the managers have to attend - the league, the FA disciplinary and the referees are all there - and various points are put out.

"But to do it midstream like this seems a bit stupid."

Former United star Gary Neville is not on his own in thinking the FA might have caused a problem for themselves.

"The FA are very reactive and very inconsistent with their reactions," he said.

"There is no rule in place that says swearing on camera brings you a two-match ban. This week, they have created one.

"Now they must make sure they continue that moving forward.

"Everybody caught swearing on camera will have to be banned for two matches."

In 2006, after Neville had been fined £5,000 for his excessive celebrations of a matchwinning goal against Liverpool, he claimed the FA were trying to take the emotion out of football, believing the governing body wanted matches to be played by "robots".

He is still of that view now, even though he feels asking for restraint is impossible.

"For the last 20 years my grandma has told me that she has caught me swearing on camera," said Neville.

"It happens 20 times in every match. I cannot understand why this time makes a difference.

"You cannot take the emotion out of football. The spur of the moment. The instinct. The release. The reaction. That is life.

"They want football players to remember their working class roots, then when they show some level of emotion that means that they care, they get knocked for it."

Neville, Ferguson and most United fans will now be closely scrutinising the FA to see whether they bring similar charges in future.

Ferguson is not convinced. What he is more certain of is a belief the whole sorry episode will bring his club and their supporters closer together.

"They (the FA) have their own way of doing things different from other clubs and we're aware of that now," he said.

"We can't do a thing about that - but we can use it.

"The support will be fantastic now. They will be absolutely magnificent."