Ferguson slams foreign divers

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has suggested foreign players only have themselves to blame if they receive unfair treatment from Premier League referees.

After Manchester City had two penalty claims turned down in their Premier League clash against Fulham on Saturday, Sergio Aguero promptly claimed that English players had "privileges" which were not available to outsiders.

However, the Red Devils boss has rubbished the Argentinean striker's suggestion, claiming that foreigners are the architects of their own downfall.

"As a subject it is not worth going down because we have known for quite a few years there are plenty of players diving and, you have to say, particularly foreign players," he said.

With that subject in mind, Ferguson took the opportunity to bemoan the treatment of United midfielder Nani at Old Trafford last weekend, the midfielder going down under a first-half challenge from Tottenham's Jan Vertonghen, only for referee Chris Foy to wave away his penalty protest.

"Nani is not the type to dive," he continued. "He has never been that type of player. It was a penalty kick on Saturday. Sometimes you get them, sometimes you don't.

"From the referee's position it was difficult because there were plenty of bodies in front of him. The linesman could have helped him but he didn't."

Ferguson was speaking ahead of Manchester United's Champions League encounter with Romanian champions CFR Cluj on Tuesday evening, with the Premier League side looking to maintain their perfect start to the competition with three points in Transylvania.