Cold snap

MANCHESTER United manager Sir Alex Ferguson could find himself in hot water with the Football Association following his blast at assistant referee Simon Beck following his side’s 1–1 league draw at Tottenham.

Ferguson felt the Red Devils were denied a penalty in the second half, before Spurs equalised in stoppage time through Clint Dempsey to grab a deserved share of the spoils.

The controversial incident came just after an hour when Wayne Rooney, introduced as a substitute moments earlier, appeared to tangle inside the box with Spurs defender Steven Caulker.

Beck remained unmoved by the challenge, but afterwards Ferguson hit out: “It was definitely a penalty. He put his leg right in there.

“The linesman is facing it. I thought he had a very poor game, the linesman. I thought he was disappointing.”

Ferguson went on to highlight a decision Beck made in favour of Chelsea in 2010, when he failed to flag Didier Drogba offside as the Blues won 2–1 at Old Trafford.

“Everyone remembers that – I certainly do.”

Ferguson, who had seen red–hot hitman Robin van Persie open the scoring for his side on a snowy Sunday in North London, also accused Beck of failing to spot a foul ahead of Spurs’ dramatic equaliser.

“I thought Rafael was fouled in the build-up to it,” he said. “I thought it was a clear foul but we didn’t get it.”

The draw means United are now five points clear of reigning champions Manchester City, while Spurs sit four points behind Chelsea in fourth place.