No charge ... Sir Alex Ferguson avoids scrutiny for his contact with referees. Source: AP
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson will not face any FA action over his angry touchline protests towards match officials during Wednesday's dramatic 4-3 win over Newcastle at Old Trafford.
| P | W | D | L | GD | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man United | 19 | 15 | 1 | 3 | 20 | 46 |
| 2 | Man City | 19 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 18 | 39 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 18 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 20 | 35 |
| 4 | Tottenham | 19 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 33 |
| 5 | Everton | 19 | 8 | 9 | 2 | 9 | 33 |
| 6 | West Brom | 19 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 33 |
| 7 | Arsenal | 18 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 14 | 30 |
| 8 | Stoke | 19 | 6 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 28 |
| 9 | Swansea | 19 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 25 |
| 10 | Liverpool | 19 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 25 |
| 11 | Norwich | 19 | 6 | 7 | 6 | -8 | 25 |
| 12 | West Ham | 18 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 23 |
| 13 | Sunderland | 19 | 5 | 7 | 7 | -4 | 22 |
| 14 | Fulham | 19 | 5 | 6 | 8 | -5 | 21 |
| 15 | Newcastle | 19 | 5 | 5 | 9 | -7 | 20 |
| 16 | Aston Villa | 19 | 4 | 6 | 9 | -21 | 18 |
| 17 | Southampton | 18 | 4 | 4 | 10 | -11 | 16 |
| 18 | Wigan | 19 | 4 | 3 | 12 | -16 | 15 |
| 19 | Reading | 19 | 1 | 7 | 11 | -16 | 10 |
| 20 | QPR | 19 | 1 | 7 | 11 | -17 | 10 |
Ferguson was unhappy because Newcastle went 2-1 up in the first half when a Jonny Evans own goal, having initially been disallowed for offside against Papiss Cisse, was eventually allowed to stand after consultation between the officials.
Before the second-half began, the United boss could be seen remonstrating with referee Mike Dean, fourth official Neil Swarbrick and linesman Jake Collin, and it had been suggested that the ref might make an official complaint.
However, Dean's match report made no mention of Ferguson's conduct and so the FA will not be pursuing the matter further.
Asked about the controversial Evans own goal after the match, Ferguson said: "The linesman correctly whistled for offside, because Cisse was in an offside position when the cross was made and he also pulled on Evans' arm.
"If that's not interference, what is interference? That's the point I was making to Mike Dean."
However, the Barclays Premier League have backed Dean and issued a clarification which said that "as Cisse did not play the ball, then he was not interfering with play".
The league added: "It is also the case that Cisse didn't interfere with the opponent."
Despite falling behind three times, United ended up winning the game 4-3 thanks to a 90th-minute Javier Hernandez goal and they are now seven points clear at the top of the table, because nearest rivals Manchester City lost 1-0 at Sunderland.
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