Fergie Phone Rant At Hackett Received With Little Response

Sir Alex Ferguson let his feelings known on referee boss Keith Hackett following United’s exit from the Cup on Saturday. Portsmouth committed 16 fouls in the game with only two yellow cards being awarded. The most notable events were fouls on Cristiano Ronaldo, where the referee, Martin Atkinson, enforced no punishment on the fouling players. Just seconds in to the game, Ronaldo was shoulder charged by Diarra, who made no attempt to go for the ball, but the referee opted just to award a freekick and give the offending player a talking to. This set the tone for the match, with Ferguson believing the referee was indicating to the Pompey players that they could get away with fouling with no consequence. It took six fouls from the former Chelsea and Arsenal player before the referee put the players name in the book. A few minutes later, as Ronaldo sprinted in to the six yard box, Distin was now the player to charge in to our winger, again, making no attempt to win the ball. Referee Atkinson ... [link]