Ferguson backs Rooney over Kompany red card

Sir Alex Ferguson has backed Wayne Rooney over his role in Vincent Kompany’s sending off on Sunday.

City boss Roberto Mancini claimed that Rooney had put referee Chris Foy under pressure to dismiss City captain Kompany after his two-footed tackle on Nani, following which the Red Devils went on to grab a 3-0 half-time lead in the FA Cup third-round clash.

While Ferguson said players appealing for red cards was an “unfortunate part of our game”, he insisted the City defender would have been dismissed for his “reckless challenge”.

“I have no concerns about the behaviour in that respect because to my mind it was a reckless challenge and Nani is a very lucky boy because he didn’t get a bad injury,” Ferguson said at the FIFA Ballon d’Or gala in Zurich on Monday.

“I have no complaints about Wayne, I don’t think it was unacceptable what he did. I think it was a natural reaction to a bad challenge from an opponent.”

“But I can understand where Roberto’s coming from because that’s what happens with players today, they all appeal for penalties or players to be sent off, it’s an unfortunate part of our game.”

Ferguson was also bullish about the rest of the Premier League season, suggesting that United are ready to challenge City.

“We have a big challenge from Manchester City but that’s not a problem for Manchester United; we have faced these challenges for many years,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter where it comes from: Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool or Tottenham, and Manchester City are a very good team.”

“We know it’s going to be a big, big fight towards the end of the season.”