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Ferguson slams 'typical Germans'

Sir Alex Ferguson risked injured striker Wayne Rooney © Getty Images

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Sir Alex Ferguson slammed the behaviour of the Bayern Munich players after Manchester United's Champions League exit at the hands of the German side.

United, who lost on away goals having won 3-2 on the night, appeared to be cruising through when they led 3-0 after 40 minutes thanks to one goal from Darron Gibson and a Nani brace.

But Ivica Olic slotted home just before the break for Louis Van Gaal's side and Rafael was then dismissed for a second booking early in the second half. A stunning volley from Arjen Robben saw the visitors progress on away goals as the tie ended 4-4 on aggregate.

Ferguson was furious about the manner in which the Bayern players had put pressure on referee Nicola Rizzoli to show Rafael a second yellow card after tugging back Franck Ribery.

"There is no doubt about it," he said. "They were never getting through that tie. With 11 men, we had no problem. The young boy showed a bit of inexperience, but they got him sent off, everyone sprinted towards the referee - typical Germans."

Ferguson's allegation was met with a swift rebuttal from Bayern coach Louis van Gaal, who was also unimpressed by the United manager's assertion that the Germans would not have gone through if their hosts had retained 11 players, or claims that the visiting team targeted Wayne Rooney's delicate ankle.

"I thought England was noted for fairness,'' Van Gaal said. "I have been confronted with three comments. It is not what I call fair play. I do not share Sir Alex's opinion. Control is part of being a professional footballer. Every player must know his job.

"If you pick up one yellow card, a second means a sending off. Every player should know that and it was a yellow card offence. It was the player who made the foul. As for United winning with 11, we will never know that, neither Sir Alex nor me, because this game will not be played again. It is easy to say these things after a loss.''

It took a wonder strike from Arjen Robben to send them through, United not having the energy to mount any kind of response.

"It is hard to digest something like that,'' Ferguson said. "It was a top performance. In one way you could say we have thrown it away; in another you could argue we were very unlucky.''

Ferguson immediately set his side the task of winning their final five Premier League games to try and exert some pressure on title favourites Chelsea.

However, it looks like they will be starting that quest at Blackburn on Sunday without 34-goal Wayne Rooney, who aggravated his ankle injury early in the contest after Ferguson had decided playing the forward was a risk worth taking.

"He got a knock which was similar to last week,'' Ferguson said. "It is a burst blood vessel below the ankle. He won't be out for too long.''

After claiming that Rooney had "no chance'' of being involved on Wednesday, Ferguson revealed that the about-turn was only confirmed on the morning of the game, once he had spoken to medical staff about a work-out Rooney had put himself through.

"He had a training session yesterday and did everything we could have asked of him,'' he said. "The medical people thought there was no danger, other than he might feel it in the second-half, so we felt it was worth the risk.

"Unfortunately he went over on the ankle again. There were a couple of challenges on him and I don't think he got any protection from the referee but it is not too serious. I don't think he will be ready for Sunday but he should be available for next week.''

Meanwhile, United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar echoed Ferguson's comments.

"Everybody knows who has the cards and they're very good at that," he told MUTV. "Obviously the referee wasn't going to do it. I think they put some pressure on him and he got the card out.

"If it's 11 v 11, they have to come back to score the second one, and on the counter or even with the way we pressed them, we would probably have got more chances."

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