Ferguson: 'I Pressured Referees'

• ESPN FC, Friday, May 17, 2013 1:42 PM

Ahead of his final game in charge of Manchester United this weekend, Alex Ferguson admits that he deliberately tried to pressure referees throughout his career. For years, Ferguson has been accused of bullying referees on the field, in the tunnel or in the media. In an interview with MUTV, the Scot said “But that's been a part of it too, the pressure you try and put on referees. I save mind games for opponents, though.”

Aside from pressuring referees, Ferguson is also famous for so-called “Fergie time” which refers to the extra added time referees often seemed to give Manchester United when losing. In fact, in 2012 the BBC investigated “Fergie time” and found that United was indeed given an average of 79 extra seconds after 90 minutes were up in each game compared to other teams. Ferguson has already joked that he plans to give his watch to his successor David Moyes as a welcome present.

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