Sir Alex Ferguson Went ‘Mental’ if Man Utd Stars Didn’t Bend Simple Rule

Sir Alex Ferguson went mental if his Manchester United players didn’t do one thing, according to Paul Scholes.

On this week’s Overlap Fan Debate, Scholes and former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher discussed the nuanced ethics around winning penalties, with both agreeing that players initiating contact to win fouls was acceptable, but brazenly throwing yourself to the ground was wrong.

Carragher conceded: “I think we’re all cheats. On the football pitch we’re asking for decisions that we know are wrong. We’re trying to continually influence a referee, as a player, when we know [it’s wrong].

“I’m not against people going down, but I don’t like diving. If a keeper comes at someone’s feet or a defender makes a stupid tackle, I'll be like to my striker, ‘What are you doing? Use your brain. It’s his fault. Don’t get out of the way of him. Let him hit you.’

“Play[ing] for [the penalty] is fine, but I wouldn’t like it if I didn’t put a tackle in and he just fell to the floor.”

Scholes went on to admit that United’s legendary manager Ferguson would be actively angry if his players didn't go down upon feeling contact.

Scholes said: “I think Jamie’s right. If there’s contact [you should go down.] Our manager [Ferguson] said it all the time. If someone touches you, you should go down. And sometimes if it didn’t happen and you stayed up on your feet, he used to go f***ing mental. Get down!”

Claude Makelele challenges Paul Scholes (Credit:Getty)

Scholes, like Carragher, agreed that he didn't think the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo or Ashley Young should have dived without any contact.

On Ronaldo, who frequently dived early in his Manchester United career, Scholes said: “We weren’t happy with that. As a collective, as a team, we didn’t like it. He got told about that and it soon stopped.”

Scholes continued: “Ashley Young was a nightmare because he used to dive all the time.”