Winter claimed this was another example of Fergie trying to "de-select" a referee, knowing the authorities would be reluctant to give more United matches to officials he criticised.
His own final game before retirement was to take charge of the 2005 FA Cup final between Manchester United and Millwall.
But there was a time when he knew [size=large]United were "off limits".[/size]
He explained: "Very early in my Premier League career I sent Roy Keane off and incurred Fergie's wrath for doing so.
"In the course of the next two seasons I did not get a single Manchester United game, even though I refereed every other Premier League club at least five or six times. I was not afraid to stand up to him and I think he knew that.
"With his latest remarks, Fergie has probably de-selected Martin Atkinson for the potential title decider with Arsenal."
How the hell can refereeing Man United fairly and equally be "off limits"? It's absolutely outrageous.
Astonishing stuff form Jeff Winter, but, you could go back and trace the same story with other referees down the years - Man United have basically got themselves referees who make favourable decisions, year after year, for twenty years - which is cheating, pure and simple. The Italians had to pay good money for exactly the same treatment, which leads me to my next point; does an appearance record like Winter's (vs ManU), really only happen through Fergie's outburst and the FA running scared? Or does it run deeper than that? That's the question for me.
It's a total and utter disgrace either way, frankly, but obviously more serious if it's down to more than just the FA being complete cowards.
The bias was never all in our heads, as I'm sure each and everyone of us have been told at different times over the last 10 years. There really is one rule for Manchester United, and another rule for everyone else. Disgusting.
