Sir Alex Ferguson charged by FA following comments about official

Sir Alex Ferguson has been charged by the Football Association over comments he made about an official after Manchester United's game at Tottenham.

The Manchester United boss accused assistant referee Simon Beck of failing to give Wayne Rooney a "clear" penalty.

The FA asked Ferguson to explain his comments and have now charged the Scot, stating he implied the match official was motivated by bias.

He has until 16:00 GMT on Friday to respond to the charge.

After seeing his side surrender two points courtesy of Clint Dempsey's last-minute equaliser in the 1-1 draw on 20 January, Ferguson criticised Beck for his actions both past and present.

"There was no way the linesman was going to give that - he gave them everything," said Ferguson.

"It was a clear decision. And he was 10, maybe 12 yards away from the incident and he doesn't give it. And yet he gave everything else."

And Ferguson was also quick to point to another incident with Beck, when United were beaten 2-1 by Chelsea in April 2010.

Despite Chelsea striker Didier Drogba looking offside, Beck allowed the winning goal and it proved a pivotal moment in the title race, which Chelsea eventually won.

"I am disappointed with him [Beck] - we have not had a good record with him," Ferguson told BBC Sport.

"With Chelsea a couple of years back, he gave onside to Didier Drogba and he was three yards offside. You remember these things because it is in important games and that was an important game."

Ferguson, 71, has been asked to explain comments by the FA before, after claiming referee Alan Wiley was not physically fit enough to referee following United's 2-2 draw with Sunderland in October 2009.