LONDON: The Football Association has charged Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson over the comments he made to the media after the 1-1 draw with Tottenham.

United’s manager was critical of the performance of assistant referee Simon Beck, especially over his decision not to award a penalty to Wayne Rooney.

Ferguson said after the match: “There was no way the linesman was going to give that – he gave them everything. It was a clear decision. And he was 10, maybe 12 yards away from the incident and he doesn’t give it. And yet he gave everything else.”

Ferguson also alluded to a previous incident involving Beck, when he allowed a Didier Drogba goal to stand despite the player appearing to be offside when United were beaten 2-1 by Chelsea in April 2010.

A statement on the FA website read: “The FA has charged Sir Alex Ferguson in relation to post-match media comments made following Manchester United’s game at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday 20 January 2013.

“It is alleged the Manchester United manager breached FA Rule E3 in that he implied that the match official was motivated by bias.”

Ferguson has until 4pm on Friday to respond to the charge.

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