Manchester United’s manager Sir Alex Ferguson has vowed that he will never co-operate with the press again.
Ferguson was speaking at the mandatory UEFA press conference ahead of tonight’s Champions’ League match against Aalborg in Denmark.
On this occasion, Ferguson was fuming because he feels he was misquoted after giving an interview during his side’s pre-season tour to South Africa when he spoke of the ages of Chelsea’s players. He was angry when this was reported in several newspapers as him talking of Chelsea as an “old team”.
“You will never get any help out of me again,” he told football writers who had flown to Denmark with his team.
“I gave you access in South Africa and I shouldn’t have given you access,” he said. “It won’t happen again. From now on, no matter how many miles you travel to get an interview, you won’t get one.”
Ferguson is compelled under UEFA competition rules to attend press conferences at Champions League fixtures, or risk incurring a fine. Despite a similar requirement on management to do press and broadcast interviews after Premier League matches, Ferguson has refused to speak to the BBC since the 2004 Panorama on football agents investigated his son Jason.
Manchester United are among the contenders for the SJA’s Team of the Year award following their penalty shoot-out win in the European Cup final in Moscow in May. SJA members can view a full set of candidates for the Sportsman, Sportswoman and Team of the Year awards by clicking here.
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