Ferguson 'distraught' as Nani red card helps Madrid to victory

Harsh decision by Turkish referee turns the game after Manchester United were leading Real 1-0

Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir (2L) shows Manchester United's Portuguese midfielder Nani (3R) the red card to send him off during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg football match
(Image credit: 2013 AFP)

Manchester United 1 Real Madrid 2 (Real Madrid win 3-2 on aggregate). Alex Ferguson was "distraught" after an evening of high drama at Old Trafford, according to assistant manager Mike Phelan. So upset, in fact, that he couldn't bear to discuss his team's exit from the Champions League at the hands of Real Madrid.

So it was Phelan who faced the world's press, to talk about the dismissal on 56 minutes of Nani with a red card that reduced Ferguson to a broken man. "I don't think the manager is in any fit state to talk to the referee about the decision," said Phelan. "We all witnessed a decision that seemed very harsh, possibly incredible at that moment in the game."

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Bill Mann is a football correspondent for The Week.co.uk, scouring the world's football press daily for the popular Transfer Talk column.