RIO FERDINAND WILL not face UEFA sanction for sarcastically applauding referee Cuneyt Cakir after Manchester United’s loss to Real Madrid.
United lost 2-1 in the second leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie on Tuesday, bowing out of the competition 3-2 on aggregate.
The match at Old Trafford turned on the decision of Cakir to show Nani a straight red card for a high tackle on Alvaro Arbeloa, with United leading 1-0 when the Portuguese winger was given his marching orders.
Advertisement
The decision, which appeared harsh, was followed by two quick-fire goals from Luka Modric and Cristiano Ronaldo, as La Liga champions Real seized control to secure their passage to the quarter-finals.
Veteran centre-half Ferdinand expressed his disgust with Cakir’s decision when he sarcastically clapped in the face of the referee at the full-time whistle.
Ferguson also failed to perform his post-match media obligations, assistant manager Mike Phelan instead facing the press. UEFA have since indicated that Ferdinand will not face a punishment for his actions.
A spokesman for European football’s governing body said:
“From the report we have received from the referee we will not take any action apart from the disciplinary proceedings against Manchester United for the red card of Nani and for post-match media obligations not being fulfilled.”
Further to Ferguson refusing to talk to the media after the clash, none of the club’s players were available for comment either, which goes against UEFA’s rules on post-match media obligations.
The rule states: “Both clubs must make their manager/head coach available for this press conference. All players of both teams are obliged to pass through the mixed zone in order to conduct interviews with the media. Players must fulfil interview requests from audiovisual rights holders before conducting interviews for their club media platforms.”
UEFA’s disciplinary body will continue to assess the red-card incident to determine whether Nani’s challenge is worth of punishment beyond the automatic one-match ban.
No UEFA action on Rio Ferdinand dissent
RIO FERDINAND WILL not face UEFA sanction for sarcastically applauding referee Cuneyt Cakir after Manchester United’s loss to Real Madrid.
United lost 2-1 in the second leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie on Tuesday, bowing out of the competition 3-2 on aggregate.
The match at Old Trafford turned on the decision of Cakir to show Nani a straight red card for a high tackle on Alvaro Arbeloa, with United leading 1-0 when the Portuguese winger was given his marching orders.
The decision, which appeared harsh, was followed by two quick-fire goals from Luka Modric and Cristiano Ronaldo, as La Liga champions Real seized control to secure their passage to the quarter-finals.
Veteran centre-half Ferdinand expressed his disgust with Cakir’s decision when he sarcastically clapped in the face of the referee at the full-time whistle.
Ferguson also failed to perform his post-match media obligations, assistant manager Mike Phelan instead facing the press. UEFA have since indicated that Ferdinand will not face a punishment for his actions.
A spokesman for European football’s governing body said:
Further to Ferguson refusing to talk to the media after the clash, none of the club’s players were available for comment either, which goes against UEFA’s rules on post-match media obligations.
The rule states: “Both clubs must make their manager/head coach available for this press conference. All players of both teams are obliged to pass through the mixed zone in order to conduct interviews with the media. Players must fulfil interview requests from audiovisual rights holders before conducting interviews for their club media platforms.”
UEFA’s disciplinary body will continue to assess the red-card incident to determine whether Nani’s challenge is worth of punishment beyond the automatic one-match ban.
Nani red card referee follows Ronaldo and Real Madrid on Twitter
What goes around: this Emmanuel Eboue tackle enraged Man Utd’s players in 2008
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Alex Ferguson UEFA Champions League Football happy clapper Manchester United Nani Rio Ferdinand UK Football