12 Things Man Utd Want You To Forget About Sir Alex Ferguson

4. His Treatment Of Referees

Sir Alex Ferguson was criticised for much of his career for his bullying and intimidation of referees. So much so, Ferguson's at-times ferocious haranguing of match officials resulted in a controversial phenomena known to many as 'Fergie Time', which would traditionally see more time added on if United were losing in the final stages of a match. QPR manager Harry Redknapp confirmed that referees were terrified of Ferguson, claiming: "A lot of officials would be in awe of him and afraid to upset him," while the former Spurs boss also admitted the fear factor extended to Fergie Time, adding:

"I never had any doubts about that. If there was a bit of time to be added they would make sure they got it right because they did not want to upset him.

Fergie's ill-treatment of referees led to many of his contemporaries of the time, including Rafa Benitez, to suggest the Scot was showing flagrant disregard to the FA's Respect campaign, and while Ferguson is seen by United fans as being a saintly figure, one or two refs out there would probably say otherwise.