Sir Alex Ferguson criticized the performance of referee Mark Clattenburg, following Manchester United's 1-0 defeat to lowly Bolton on Saturday. Ferguson was particularly dissatisfied with Clattenburg's decisions in the first half, which saw United trail by an 11th minute Nicolas Anelka strike. The Scotsman, who was annoyed by Bolton's fierce approach, was sent off during the break after he made his point clear to Clattenburg in the tunnel. "It was a feisty game, I think they set an aggressive tone. You look for some protection from the referee, we didn't get it, and it became a shambles in the first-half. There was foul after foul after foul," Ferguson told Sky Sports. "I told him (Clattenburg) exactly what I thought and he didn't like it. Some referees don't like the truth. I just told him how bad I thought he was in the first half, the game was becoming a shambles. "They battled for their lives, they're down at the bottom of the league, we knew that is part of their game. I thought we should have got more protection from the referee, but we didn't get that and it was a battle." Another Scot Ferguson's compatriot David Moyes soundly criticized Clattenburg last month after the latter awarded Liverpool two penalties in the 2-1 win over Moyes' Everton. Clattenburg was punished by the FA as more controversy surrounded the Merseyside derby, including decisions to send off two Everton players and leave Liverpool's match winner Dirk Kuyt on the pitch after a blatant foul.
