Buzzin Football Blog

Sir Alex Ferguson is in deep water with the Football Association over comments he made about referee Alan Wiley following Manchester United’s 2-2 draw with Sunderland at Old Trafford.

“The pace of the game demanded a referee who was fit. He was not fit. It was ridiculous.” said Ferguson after watching United steal a point in the last minute of injury time, something else that irked the Scot who said that Wiley had not added time on after the equalising goal.

I half expected to hear Ferguson saying that Wiley had not allowed them to play on until they won the game like other referee’s do, but he stopped short of that.

Ferguson has been asked by the Football Association to explain his comments which also include the classics , “He was taking 30 seconds to book a player” and “He was also walking up the pitch for the second goal needing a rest. He was not fit enough for a game of that standard.”

Blackburn Rovers’ Sam Allardyce has managed to get away with his outburst after seeing his team beaten 6-2 by Arsenal. He did have a valid point though when he questioned why anyone would not give a penalty after Thomas Vermaelen’s blatant trip on David Dunn when the score was 3-2 to Arsenal.

Sam is big enough to accept that the best team won the game, but points to the ‘penalty’ decision as the crucial turning point of the game. He also added, “I try not to say too much publicly and say it through the system but unfortunately the system is not working so I have to be heard. People may say it is bitter or twisted, but I know I am 100% right because I am very professional in what I do. I research everything and Keith Hackett knows I am right.”

Finally, England’s World Cup qualifier in Ukraine on Saturday will be shown exclusively live to subscribers on the internet who will pay at least £4.99. The fee rises  the closer the game gets, settling at 11.99 if you pay for the match on Friday.

The rights to the game were originally purchased by Setanta but after going into administration the the digital sport specialist Perform was appointed to stream the game online.

The Odeon cinema will show the game live at eleven venues around the country, including Leicester Square, but the match will not be screened in pubs in the UK.

It is pretty amazing that none of the UK terrestrial stations made a bid for the match, although ITV do have rights to all England home games and has recently taken over Setanta’s rights for away friendlies.