Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has been handed a five-match touchline ban and a hefty fine for comments made towards a referee.
The Football Association s disciplinary board imposed a three-match ban for Ferguson s verbal attack on referee Martin Atkinson after his side s 2-1 loss to Chelsea on March 1.
Following the loss, Ferguson said: You want a fair referee or a strong referee anyway, and we didn t get that.
I must say, when I saw who the referee was I feared it. I feared the worst.
A suspended two-match ban was also activated after Ferguson accused referee Alan Wiley of being not fit following a game in October 2009.
The United boss was also fined 30,000 pounds and will miss league games against Bolton, West Ham, Fulham and E…
Radamel Falcao says he expects to spend next season at Monaco after two difficult years in the Premier League.
The Colombia striker joined Manchester United on loan in September 2014, where he managed four goals in 29 appearances as he struggled to sustain form and fitness under Louis van Gaal.
Falcao s career has further stalled at Chelsea this season, with the 30-year-old playing just once in the Premier League since October as a result of persistent injury problems, and his lack of game time has resulted in him being omitted from Colombia s Copa America squad.
The former Atletico Madrid forward says Monaco are eager for a return on the reported €60million fee they paid to sign him in 2013 and is himself desperate for regular playing time next term.
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Juventus stalwart Gianluigi Buffon has backed Bayern Munich s Manuel Neuer to become a goalkeeping great as the clubs prepare to meet in the Champions League.
Last season s beaten finalists and the German heavyweights, Serie A and Bundesliga title-holders respectively, clash in the round-of-16 first leg in Turin on Tuesday.
While Buffon, 38, is regarded as one of the finest goalkeepers of his generation, Neuer s comfort in possession has seen him come close to reinventing the position as an advanced sweeper-keeper .
I ve seen a lot of goalkeepers over this long career and I ve been fortunate enough to admire some very solid goalkeepers with great reliability and quality, Buffon told reporters.
Manuel Neuer is among them and he s a goalkeeper who plays i…
Jurgen Klopp does not believe Manchester City are cracking under the pressure of Liverpool s ferocious pace at the top of the Premier League.
The Reds will celebrate Christmas with a four-point lead over the reigning champions following recent defeats for Pep Guardiola s side against Chelsea and Crystal Palace.
Both of those reverses came when Liverpool had played earlier that weekend and won against Bournemouth and Wolves respectively.
But Klopp baulked at the idea that City are struggling to respond to his still unbeaten side – pointing to the overall quality of their performances in what he felt were ill-deserved results.
You saw the two games they played? It didn t look like they felt a lot of pressure. They were outstanding in these games, he tol…
Former Bayern Munich midfielder Mehmet Scholl has branded the club s dealings with Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski as strange
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The ex-Borussia Dortmund pair have both been linked with moves away from the Allianz Arena but, while Gotze a reported target for Liverpool is said to have been urged to leave by club officials, Bayern appear determined to keep Lewandowski.
This stance contrasts that of the players, with Gotze apparently eager to remain with the Bundesliga champions and Lewandowski seemingly keen to leave, with his agent recently confirming transfer talks with Real Madrid.
And Scholl, who was a coach at Bayern until 2013, told ARD: Something strange is happening.
A player [Gotze], whose contract runs for one [more] year, w…