LONDON — Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson is facing disciplinary action by the Football Association (FA) after criticising a linesman for denying his side a penalty in Sunday's 1-1 draw at Tottenham. An FA statement Monday said the governing body had “contacted Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson to ask him for his observations in relation to comments he made in the media following Manchester United's draw against Tottenham yesterday (Sunday).” After the match, Ferguson hit out at assistant referee Simon Beck, who kept his flag down despite Steven Caulker appearing to trip United substitute Wayne Rooney inside the Spurs 18-yard box in the 63rd minute. “It was a clear penalty kick on Wayne Rooney, but in no way was the linesman going to give that,” Ferguson told the BBC. “He gave them (Tottenham) everything else. We have not had a good record with this linesman — against Chelsea a few years ago he gave onside to Didier Drogba, who was three yards offside. You remember those things.” In March 2011 Ferguson received a five-match touchline ban from the FA and a £30,000 (US $47,500, 35,600 Euros) fine for questioning the integrity of referee Martin Atkinson after a match at Chelsea. Betting and match-fixing the big threats: Platini Match-fixing and illegal betting are the biggest threats to the future of soccer, UEFA president Michel Platini said Monday. Although racism and incidents of crowd violence have also plagued the sport, Platini said the end of uncertainty about results would kill passion for the game and even the sport itself. “Racism, violence do not affect just soccer but the public. On the other hand, we are directly concerned by match-fixing,” he told French radio RTL. “For me, this is the big shame. If tomorrow, we go watch a game already knowing the outcome, football is dead.” Match-fixing and betting have long been a concern for soccer authorities. — Agencies
