Sir Alex Ferguson still 'regrets' the circumstances which led to Man Utd withdrawing from the FA Cup
United boss concedes missing 99/00 tournament was a disaster
Sir Alex Ferguson admits that he still 'regrets' the circumstances which led to Manchester United withdrawing from the FA Cup a decade ago.
As holders, United failed to defend the trophy during the 1999/00 season after pulling out in order to play in the Club World Championship in Brazil.
The decision prompted fierce criticism of the club, with many claiming the Red Devils had devalued the FA Cup by not playing in the competition that season.
Ferguson concedes the situation turned into a 'disaster' for United, but insists the club were under pressure to play in Brazil to boost England's prospects of staging the 2006 World Cup finals.
Though the break from domestic action enabled United to win the Premier League at a canter, Ferguson was never comfortable with pulling out of the FA Cup.
Undue criticism
"It turned out to be a disaster for us," Ferguson told
Inside United.
"We did it to help England's World Cup bid. That was the political situation.
"I regretted it because we got nothing but stick and terrible criticism for not being in the FA Cup when really, it wasn't our fault.
"The FA and the government felt that playing in this tournament would help England's bid to host the 2006 World Cup.
"There was a lot of undue criticism - but it was a great two-week break."
