Speaking to the press on Thursday at UEFA’s elite coaches forum, Alex Ferguson agreed that something has to be done to eradicate diving from the game and that UEFA took the decision on Eduardo to set a marker for the rest of the season.
But while the Beeb would have you believe (along with a fantastic photo) that Ferguson was backing UEFA’s ban on Eduardo, what was far more interesting and relevant were his comments about Wenger’s reactions to the ban.
Ferguson:
“I agree with Arsene, I would ask the same question ‘is it going to happen to everyone?’
You become insular and protective of your own player and own team, we’re all selfish that way. I would have been saying ‘what about all the rest of the players?’.
But I wouldn’t have been pleased if my player had done that. I wouldn’t say it publicly though, because when you do that you’re in danger of losing the morale of the dressing room.
Privately, as I’ve done many times, you have a different view, but I wouldn’t do it publicly.”
Put this in context of what Wenger said about protecting his players in the public eye by saying that ‘I didn’t see it’ (or something to that effect), and you have two managers being remarkably candid and honest about how they deal with diving.
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