Arsenal News 24/7Writer: Rocky7 
Date:Sunday November 4 2007
Time: 1:09AM
UK time is: 07:17:38
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Ferguson See's Purple.....I Mean Red
Sir Alex Ferguson rather absurdly claims match referee Howard Webb showed favoritism towards the Gunners and also attacked the level of security at Ashburton Grove.
First of all SAF believes that Arsenal received the benefit of the decisions in Saturday's high octane top of the table clash and rather bizarrely claimed that Louis Saha was fouled in the build up to the second equaliser.
'It is very difficult for the referee. I think that Howard Webb has a great chance to be the top ref, but today was a big game for him and at times he favoured Arsenal.' Said the Purple one.
If you forget the fact that there was no foul on Louis Saha, we had a certain penalty denied when Vidic tried swapping shirts with Alex Hleb, two Arsenal players received bookings for clean tackles AND Adebayor was ruled offside when clean through on goal when he wasn't........then he might just have a point.
Maybe he feels aggrieved because for a change one of the match officials actually spotted a ball that had crossed the line by a couple of metres?!!
Ferguson then went on to suggest that Ashburton Grove must be the first stadium in the world that he has ever had abuse levelled at him.
'Our own bench were getting terrible abuse from people two or three feet away, There is a lack of security here. It is absolutely disgraceful the abuse you and your staff take. All sorts of things are screamed and shouted at you. There is an absolute danger here.'
I'm sorry but the United manager is just looking for things to slag Arsenal off for here. Do you ever hear Arsene Wenger complaining about being called a pedophile by rival fans? No. Because the long and short of it is, every football club has it's idiots, and the best thing you can do is ignore them.
You can always tell when your team is worrying the Man U manager can't you!!
Up the Gunners.
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Your Comments
soure grapes anyone?
Armory
I did laugh when I read his interview on BBC Sport. What do you expect if you go to one of your fiercest rivals ground?!! A cup of tea and some scones?! Sir Alex has been in the game long enough to know this is part of parcel of the game, so just squeeze your big purple nose of yours back on the bus to Mankland. He knows they were out played today and is worried. Look out Fergie, here come the Gunners!!!!
itsup4grabsnow
wes brown fouled rosicky prior to the 1st goal. so if SAF is telling the truth, i guess it evens up.
korodon
What a *****!
Ozi Gooner
Spoken like a true knight of the realm, providing the realm in question is The realm of Wibble. Silly old bugger, why should'nt the people sitting around him complain about the smell of wee and stale whisky? Still I like the idea of The Grove becoming as intimidating as say Galatasary stadium.
nikolaijns
sour grapes, Armory? More like sour mash whisky, where Fergie's concerned ;) »»Arsene Knows««
Wingston75
LOL nikol...i love when emirates scares the **** out of the opponents like this
KnightOfARSENAL
He's just afraid of the Arsenal of today...very afraid.
entropy13
How can the old soak criticize the ref for favouring Arsenal, when that stupid Brazilian kid was waving imaginary cards at the ref on two occasions without being cautioned for it. Two blatant pens not given and their first goal came after a foul in the middle of the park by that stupid Brazilian kid wasn't given. I, though, didn't watch the game full of wine (whine) and whiskey
bseymour
I actually think that Man Utd got all the 50-50 decisions on the day.. mind you, Vidic's shirt pulling of Hleb was a pen.. so why is Fergie so angry? Quite simple. Arsenal didn't die down when they went behind yesterday and this team has shown a great amount of resilience.. fantastic to watch.
arsenalrulz4ever
Anderson showed what an idiot he was in the match. Disgraceful
stukazufuss
Doesn't it feel great to see Fergie this wound up. He was going ballistic after Eboue made a little more on a foul by Evra in the first half, conveniently forgeting Cristiano Ronaldo's repeated dives for penalties and free kicks. Match of the Day is fast becoming a farce; why don't they talk about those incidents like Vidic's shirt-pulling on Hleb, the push by Brown on Hleb or Adebayor's offside that wasn't? Surely these are key moments in the match.
Gooner_Vin
it was blatanly obvious Webb was in favour or Man U. every 50-50 went to Man U. If a player went down,though went down easily or dived, i.e. Ronaldo -- must of been foulded. the truth is this: Man U, like last season, cannot run with us. we are too skillfull and too fast. so all they can do is play physical and foul. BUT in this game, and esp in the last third, we did not get the calls.
there should have been at least, atleast one penaltly. helb brough down. no call. hargraves has his arm out handles the ball. no call pass to adebyor he is brought down no call. this game we were not just playing man u. we were playing them plus the ref. it was disgusting. oh my even our own pitch we don't get advantegous calls.
tdotgunner
yesterday was a great game and a good result, coming from behind twice when last year we would of lost that game, we should of won in my opinion as i think we played better, and thats what has prob got fergie's goat.
PUREGOLD
He needs to start taking it steady at his age! he shouldn't go over doing it.
dazza71
Told you all it would be 2-2. Got 22/1 for that. Thanks Gallas. Heart sttack soon for both managers if they carry on like that!!
will it ever happen
Got a fair few grey hairs after that. tdotgunner you're well off the mark there mate, have a word wth yourself, that Utd team is ****ing excellent, pains me to say it but i think they're gonna win the league. The only edge they have on us is couple yrs experience
AFC85Lew
It was certainly reported on the radio, that there was an incident behind the United bench which took a few minutes to sort out and ended up with people getting thrown out of the stadium. Your club later confirmed that individuals were ejected. I think there is one thing, name calling, and another where fans are so abusive that your own club have to eject people from the ground. It is interesting the comment made about Ferguson being interviewed by BBC Sport - as he refuses to speak to BBC Sport, it must have been one hell of a conversation :) .... and lets be frank, there was no push by Brown on Hleb - Brown has possesion, Hleb came charging in, Brown held him off, Hleb went down expecting the free kick like he usually does. Hargreaves never had his hand out for the ball, he had them by his side and never moved his hand once. Shown in slow motion on Match of the Day. Overall the Ref had an excellent game - the suggestions he didn't referee it 50/50 are made by those who need to go and study the rule book.
EnglishSpur
I tend to agree Englishspur, I wouldn't have given the foul on Hleb, nor was Hargreves' a penalty. Webb reffed it 50-50, he just did it very badly at times. Webb is one of many refs you get the impression has never played the game himself. Ferguson would do well to look at the dugout at Old Trafford, which is in amongst the fans. Mourinho asked for the away fans to be moved into the Shed at the Bodge because of the abuse (that's not excusing the individuals who were ejected). To attack our lack of security is hypocritical, sour and incredibly classless, all of which you come to associate with Ferguosn.
Little Dutch
Ya agree with english spur...even i dint think it was a foul on hleb......Webb had a decent game.....i think the reaso he dint give the pen on hleb was he was unsighted and i dont think the linesman cud hav seen it so thats jus unlucky i guess......
karley
I think we need to be a little sympathetic to Ferguson here. After all he is getting on a bit, and the last time he was in London, he was physically attacked at Euston Station. He's probably a little sensitive about that.
EnglishSpur
Yeah, diddums.Mind you, at his time of life and with all that whiskey he drinks, does a punch in the testes really make much difference?
Little Dutch
It could sober him up...
k_chelski
The ref was poor. In the first half he gave too many freekicks for nothing challenges & broke up the play which didn't suit either team. The linesman didn't help him with the ridiculous offside decision on Adebayor, which wasn't even a close call. It was a definate penalty on Hleb & thats two weeks running those decisions haven't gone for us, with the same ref in charge, had that challenge been on a Man Utd player it would've been a penalty..........Just changing subjects, I see that for the 3rd week in a row Jamie Carragher has got away with a clear penalty. His arms were well above his head when the ball hit one of them, so its a penalty. It seems nobody is allowed to give decisions against Carragher at present!!
Ashburton Gooner
That whiskey that Fergie drinks - is it 'Famous Grouse' by any chance? It wasn't a foul on Hleb but then it wasn't a dive either - Brown was just stronger and better set. The ref did ok and got the major decisions right. He was a little over officious but that may have been understandable given the way that these games have boiled over in the past. The failure to give the pen on Hleb was down to the linesman, I don't think Webb could possibly have given it from his position. Fergie's rant was great - 12 games into the season and the pressure is getting to him already. His nose could explode by Xmas at this rate!
Amos.
i remember when i was at OT and the home fans started singing "sit down you peodophile" so i stood up and did the munich aeroplane ,arms out to my side...the steward started on me saying i was out of order,and that i was being disrespectful,and i should stop,i told them that i would stop when their own fans stopped calling my manager a peodophile,they had no answer....are they tring to tell me that there isnt anyone in the stadium or watching at home who has been abused at the hands of a genuine peodophile,who hears this sick chanting and isnt effected by it?
fran merida
Fergie is full of rubbish, The ref got a few decisions wrong for both sides, so I dont know what he's on about, suggesting he was biased towards Arsenal. Mind games the next time Webb officiates a ManU game? Or just a simple case of sour grapes? Maybe a bit of both.
prits
I guess Fran Merida, that while name calling Wenger is just an inaccurate and tasteless taunt, taking the ***** out of and joking about a FACTUAL event which resulted in the deaths of 23 people, not all who were connected with Manchester United, is a fairly despicable way in which any human being would behave. People will be singing about Hillsborough next.
EnglishSpur
Englishspur - I agree with all the points you make, BUT have to pull you up on the points you didn't make. You tell people to study the rule book but Webb and his officials failed to spot a blatent shirt pull in the area, gave an offside when he was clean through and clearly on, issued 2 yellow cards to Arsenal players for PERFECT challenges and failed on two occassions to issue Andersson a second yellow card for asking Arsenal players to be booked. I know that we got a couple of dodgy decisions go our way as happnes in lots of matches, but not one of those incidents was as big as those I have pointed out. And people wonder why we don't want Webb reffing our matches. Also, I'm sick of all the congrtulations nd back slapping for the linesman for spotting the ball crossing the line.....it's his job to do that.
Rocky7
Well Spurs have learnt its not always the case. I watched Leicester v Cardiff yesterday in the Rugby and there were numerous mistakes by the ref, but the fans don't constantly make excuses, try to find any error, where the ref has a millisecond to make a call either way. Lets turn it into American football, where the game is stopped for every contested call ... the comments and whinging here make an interesting comparison to this article http://www.manchesterunited.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=88385
EnglishSpur
Thats a fair and gracious article EnglishSpur, readily acknowledged by gooners, as are most of the comments here but then the balance of the VitalManU piece isn't reflected in the comments and whinging of the ManU manager which is after all what this piece is all about.
Amos.
Actually ES before you go finger pointing, the comments made by Arsenal fans are all in repsonse to the ridiculous statment made by Fergusson.
Rocky7
Except for the constant complaining that Webb is somehow always against you.
EnglishSpur
Don't you have things a little upside down ES? It's Fergie who is complaining that Webb is against ManU. The anti-Webb comments here (such as they are and not shared by everyone) are simply expressing the opinion supported by reasoned argument, that he wasn't very good at his job.
Amos.
Well in three massive matches so far in 2007 I think he has made more than enough dodgy decisions to complain about.
Rocky7
thats rich coming from a spud supporter whos fans love to call our manager a peodophile as well,but you wouldnt like it if gooners started making hissing noices...get of your high morale stool...fool
fran merida
fran i get what your saying about the peodophile statement affecting someone who is watching but the munich thing is out of order as well you dont have to sink to their level and their insensitive comment doesnt excuse yours set standards for yourself and stick to them regardless of what the mancs or spuds do to you and us as gooners.
anonymous
WEBB just shouldnt ref big games coz he disrupted the flow quite often gave decisions both ways when there were no fouls i think most went manus way but that could be because im an arsenal fan which would cause me some bias either way there are better refs for games of this magnitude coz a ref requires an extra set of nuts to make the calls during these games.
anonymous
What's a safe distance to shout abuse from then ?
radar
In whatever support - football, rugby, cricket, basketball ... etc - unless you stop the game like the NFL you will always get decisions that they disagree with. They have Poll on MoTD giving his own interpretation. And thats what a lot of decisions are as the refs don't have the benefit of hindsight and have to make split decisions. And of course fans will always feel the ref has made decisions against their team - to say he's a crap ref is nonsense, week in and out, he's one of the best.
EnglishSpur
I was about 60 yards away and hurling as much as I could....so the security where I was must have been slack aswell.
radar
And Fran Merida, calling Wenger a paedo is a juvenile and false taunt made by brainless people - The Munich Air Disaster, Hillsborough, the Holocaust etc are actually real events where 10s, 100s, millions of people died ... hardly the same scale unless you're a member of the BNP and choose to claim these actual events didn't occur?
EnglishSpur
exactly,child abuse does happen is this world,so using it as a form of mocking is wrong,just because it only effects individuals doesnt make it any less important to the the person who has been affected.so what your saying is because 100 or so people died collectivly in hillsborough,then its worse for the manc fans to take the pi$s out of liverpool fans,than it is to abuse wenger,because the victims of child abuse are divided and invisable.
fran merida
SAF was just clutching at straws here because had they got the three points none of this *****e would have come out....He obviously had it in his mind that, had we lost it might have severley dented our spirit, but a draw or a win for us and we stay strong. I think he saw this game as a massive opportunity to give us a body blow that would take us a while to recover from.....but at the same time he suspects that if he doesn't get three points and we put up a good fight then he knows we are the real deal and if we go on from here we might be unstopable....and that is why I think he was so so upset....awwwwwwwwww
radar
anonymous your right its isnt a good thing to sink to their level,but have you been to old trafford,or white hart lane and witnessed these sick taunts? coz i have,and when push comes to shove,give as good as you get,because if they are moronic enough to hurl it,you cant reason with them,or throws things at them,you dish it back where it hurts,and believe me,mancs really dont like it when you mention munich,its not a popularity contest,im not out to make new friends of other teams or gain the respect of supporters who hate us gooners with a passion.... fu ck them...fu ck them all...
fran merida
Fergie is just showing himself up for the sour old ref-faced **** that he is. Laughable.
Moorish
Ref-faced? LOL, meant red-faced. The **** bit was not a typo.
Moorish
Come on, we all know what Fergie is like. I think him going mental is quality entertainment.
Real Deal
LOL Fergie at his best. Quite Ironic he should come out and call the Referee the best in the country on Friday then on Sat afternoon retract that after his team got humped. I actaully thought Webb gave all the 50-50's to Man Utd and that he broke up the play so that Arsenal could not play thier usual silky one touch stuff!
rk1888
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