Ferguson charged by FA

London - Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was charged with improper conduct by the Football Association on Thursday following his criticism of referee Martin Atkinson in the defeat at Chelsea.

Ferguson appeared to question Atkinson's impartiality following United's 2-1 loss at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, which saw the Red Devils manager hit out at Atkinson's failure to dismiss Blues defender David Luiz.

"The FA has today charged Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson with Improper Conduct relating to media comments," an FA statement said.

Ferguson has until 16:00 (SA time) on Tuesday, March 8 to respond to the charge, which could lead to a fine or a touchline ban.

In a scathing post-match tirade broadcast on Manchester United's official television channel, Ferguson gave a damning verdict on Atkinson's display.

"You want a fair ref. I don't know how he got this game. I must say, when I saw who it was, I did fear that," Ferguson told MUTV.

"It's three years in a row that decisions have changed the game here. It was incredible.

"Luiz had done (Javier) Hernandez off the ball and nothing was done. Then he does (Wayne) Rooney, clear as day.

"You are talking about what changed the game in the second half. These are decisions that change the game and he is going to be refereeing every week!

"I'm proud of my players. They endured a lot of bad decisions against them and they have done their best.

"They (Chelsea) got a lot of decisions that surprised me in a major game like that."