Wiley wants to move on

Wiley: Disappointed with comments

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Alan Wiley has spoken for the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson labelled him 'unfit' and expressed a desire to put the incident firmly behind him.

The official was harshly criticised by the Manchester United boss for not being fit enough to keep up with the pace of the game in the champions' 2-2 draw with Sunderland last month.

Ferguson was recently handed a two-match touchline ban and a £20,000 fine for the comments with a suspended two-game ban held over until the end of next season.

Wiley admitted he was 'bitterly disappointed' with Ferguson and added that he had decided against suing the Scot for defamation.

"Although I was bitterly disappointed about the personal attack on me I want to put this behind me and continue to concentrate on my refereeing," he said.

While national secretary for referees' union Prospect Alan Leighton stated: "Unwarranted and untrue attacks on referees damage the hard earned reputation of our members, call into question their integrity and damage the image by suggesting that the referees are incapable of doing their job.

"Referees understand and accept that their decisions will be questioned, but personal attacks are unacceptable."

When asked why Prospect had left it until such a high-profile case to make their views public, Leighton added: "Prospect adopted a policy when we started representing referees four years ago that we would not make public comment on every criticism made by ex-referees or managers.

"The seriousness of the recent attack forced the union to depart that policy. We will, however, continue to defend members where their professionalism is publicly questioned."