Fergie apologises to Wiley

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has apologised to Alan Wiley after criticising the referee last weekend for his poor fitness levels.

In the wake of United's 2-2 draw with Sunderland at Old Trafford last Saturday evening, the veteran Scot said that he thought Wiley was 'not fit enough for a game of that standard' and accused him of 'walking up the pitch for the second goal needing a rest'.

Despite apologising for the comments, Ferguson still believes the general fitness levels of officials in the Premier League is not up to standard.

In a statement issued on United's official website, Ferguson said: "I apologise to Mr Wiley for any personal embarrassment that my remarks may have caused and to the FA for going public with my views.

"In retrospect, I accept that this could be deemed as expressing those views in an inappropriate forum.

"It was never my intention to bring the focus of intense media attention on Mr Wiley. I intend to contact him personally after I return from a trip overseas during this international break.

"I'd wish it to be noted that I've always respected Mr Wiley's integrity and that I didn't state or imply that Mr Wiley is a bad referee, that he was in any way biased, that decision-making generally during the game was poor, or that he missed any key incident during the game.

"My only intention in speaking publicly was to highlight what I believe to be a serious and important issue in the game, namely that the fitness levels of referees must match the ever-increasing demands of the modern game, which I hope will now be properly addressed through the appropriate formal channels."