Sir Alex Ferguson will make a second apology in a last-ditch attempt to escape a misconduct charge for his verbal attack on Alan Wiley, the referee.
After the Manchester United manager’s initial apology to Wiley, issued via the club’s website over the weekend, was branded “half-hearted” by referees’ chiefs, Ferguson is to send a letter of apology to the Football Association once he returns from a family holiday in the United States in the next 24 hours. He will also call Wiley to explain his comments.
Ferguson has until Friday morning to submit his response to the FA after asking for more time to explain his outburst in the wake of United’s 2-2 draw at home to Sunderland ten days ago, when he accused Wiley of not being fit enough. Official statistics later suggested otherwise and it is understood that United officials have drafted a formal written apology on Ferguson’s behalf that the manager will scrutinise before it is sent to the FA.
The letter is not thought to include an unreserved apology but will explain in more detail why he failed to retract in his original apology claims that Wiley “just wasn’t fit enough”.
Ferguson hopes the letter may be enough to prevent the governing body from charging him with improper conduct, even though privately he fears it will make no difference because of the intense pressure being placed on the FA to punish him.
Sources close to Ferguson have indicated that he is “90 per cent convinced” he will be charged and that he ho 阅读全文>>