Alex Ferguson defends under-fire Patrice Evra

Last Updated: Tuesday, October 22, 2013, 22:56  

London: Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson spoke out in support of Patrice Evra on Tuesday, following criticism of the French left-back for an attack on his critics in the media.

Evra, who played under Ferguson for seven years at United, has been asked to explain himself by the French Football Federation after branding critics including former France left-back Bixente Lizarazu "tramps" and "parasites".

The 32-year-old is seen in France as one of the figureheads of the notorious training-ground strike at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, which followed striker Nicolas Anelka`s expulsion from the national squad by coach Raymond Domenech.

However, when Ferguson was asked if he had ever experienced any trouble with Evra at Old Trafford, he replied: "Never once.

"I think it was unfortunate, the episode in South Africa in the World Cup finals, that he was captain then and had to take it all on himself to represent the players in terms of the training with the coach at the time.

"If I`d have been able to get hold of him, I would have advised him not to do that, at the time. But I never had a problem at all with Patrice. He was a terrific captain, a terrific professional."

Ferguson was speaking at the launch of his new autobiography, `My Autobiography`, which goes on sale on Thursday. AFP ------------------ ZEENEWS.com