Alex Ferguson makes his point to the referee Alan Wiley. Photograph: Barry Coombs/EMPICS Sport
Sir Alex Ferguson has apologised to referee Alan Wiley for "any personal embarrassment" caused by his attack on the official's fitness after last week's match between Manchester United and Sunderland at Old Trafford.
However the United manager has insisted that he was right to highlight the "serious issues in the game, namely the fitness level of referees."
The row erupted immediately after last week's 2-2 draw when Ferguson questioned whether Wiley had the necessary fitness to take charge of a Premier League match and claimed that at periods during the game he needed a rest.
The attack outraged referees, who have put the Football Association under pressure to take tough action when they review the case, having now asked Ferguson for an explanation.
But Ferguson has already decided it was not the wisest choice of words. "I apologise to Mr Wiley for any personal embarrassment my comments may have caused and to the FA for going public with my views," he said. "In retrospect I accept that they could be deemed as expressing those views in an inappropriate form.
"It was never my intention to bring the focus of intense media interest on Mr Wiley and I will apologise to him personally when I return from an overseas trip during the international break."
Only two weeks previously Ferguson had been seen joking with Wiley on the touchline immediately after Michael Owen's controversial winner in the six minutes of added time against Manchester City.
As opposed to the view given in last week's outburst, the United manager insists he still has a high regard for Wiley. "I wish it to be noted that I have always respected Mr Wiley's integrity and I did not mean to imply that 1) Mr Wiley is a bad referee, 2) that he was in any way biased, 3) that decisions he made during the game were wrong and 4) that he missed any important incidents in the game.
"My only intention in speaking publicly was to highlight what I believed to be serious issues in the game, namely the fitness levels of referees."