Fergie: I Feared The Worst

Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed he 'feared the worst' when he learned Martin Atkinson would referee Manchester United's game against Chelsea.

United slipped to a second Premier League defeat of the season on Tuesday evening after Chelsea came from behind to record a 2-1 success.

However, Ferguson was unhappy with Atkinson's handling of the high-octane encounter, particularly the failure to send off Chelsea goalscorer David Luiz.

The Brazilian defender was fortunate not to pick up a second yellow card for tripping Wayne Rooney and, two minutes later, Frank Lampard hammered home the winning penalty.

Ferguson described the decision to award the spot-kick for Chris Smalling's foul on Yuri Zhirkov as 'soft' and does not believe a 'strong' referee was in charge of the fixture.

Atkinson officiated the corresponding fixture last season when United were unhappy with the award of a free-kick which led to John Terry scoring the only goal of the game.

United boss Ferguson was left perplexed as to why Atkinson was handed the job again and was always worried about the official's impact on the contest.

"You hope you get a strong referee in games like this," said Ferguson.

"It was a major game for both clubs. You want a fair referee - or a strong referee, anyway - and we didn't get that.

"I don't know why he has got the game. I must say, when I saw who the referee was I did fear it. I feared the worst."