Sir Alex Ferguson faces a series of escalating fines, beginning with a punishment in the region of £1,000, after maintaining his boycott of the BBC in direct opposition to new Premier League rules.
Ferguson's refusal to speak to Match of the Day 2 after Manchester United's thrilling 2-2 draw at Fulham today follows weeks of discussions behind the scenes in which he has come under growing pressure from the Premier League and the League Managers Association.
United's chief executive, David Gill, has asked Ferguson to think closely about ending his grudge with the BBC, dating back to a Panorama documentary in 2004, entitled Father and Son, about the business activities of his son Jason, who was then working as a football agent.
The threat of weekly fines appears to have made no difference, however, with Match of the Day staff told before kick-off at Craven Cottage that requesting an interview with the United manager would be pointless.
Ferguson is worth around £22m and the 68-year-old is said to be largely unmoved by the threat of comparatively small fines. Instead, he has told colleagues he is waiting for an apology before he speaks to the BBC again. He has accused the institution in the past of "breathtaking arrogance".
The matter will now be referred to the Premier League board to decide the extent of the first fine, with the amount set to rise every week he continues to ignore the different Match of the Day shows and Radio 5 Live. Talks will continue behind the scenes and BBC staff have been told from within Old Trafford that there may eventually be a change in his position.
In previous years Ferguson was immune to punishment because the rules requested that managers talk to the broadcast rights-holders under a "best endeavours" clause. The idea of tightening up the rules was specifically to tackle Ferguson and was voted in by all 20 Premier League clubs, including United.
The BBC chose not to comment but Gary Lineker, the Match of the Day host, expressed his belief earlier in the day that it would be "the amount of the fine which will make his [Ferguson's] mind up".
Lineker said: "It's a shame. We would like him to speak to us because we respect him and his teams, and always have done. It makes no difference to the programme because it's action-led. But it does make a difference to the Manchester United fans. They are the ones missing out. I get letters saying: 'We never hear from Sir Alex,' and I have to explain. It's something he feels very strongly about, so what can you do?"
The Premier League issued a statement, saying: "The Premier League is disappointed that the BBC and Manchester United have, as yet, been unable to resolve the issue of Sir Alex Ferguson providing post-match interviews.
"We will, of course, continue to monitor the situation and offer any help deemed necessary by either party to try and help remedy the situation. However, this is a breach of Premier League rules and the board will consider the appropriate course of action at their next meeting scheduled for late September."
Ferguson's opinion about the BBC can be gauged from an interview in 2007. "The BBC is the kind of company that never apologise, and they never will apologise," he said. "They did a story about my son that was a whole lot of nonsense."
