Sir Alex Ferguson dropped his ultimate fury in the form of a “hairdryer treatment” on one figure who “caused the loss of two” Manchester United players in a match.
The 83-year-old Scotsman has been retired from football since 2013 after he bowed out of Old Trafford by calling it time on his run as Manchester United manager.
Sir Alex Ferguson led United to their last Premier League title in the 2012-13 campaign before he handed over the reins to the Red Devils to David Moyes.
The Scot is regarded as one of the best managers of all time and Ferguson enjoyed incredible success with both United in England and with Aberdeen in Scotland.
Ferguson’s impressive trophy haul at United during his 26-year reign at Old Trafford included leading the Red Devils to all 13 of their Premier League titles.
The United legend also forever etched his name in the history books at the Red Devils after Ferguson led United to their iconic treble win in the 1998-99 season.
Ferguson has remained an ever-present figure at Old Trafford long after his retirement and often attends matches to watch the current United team in action.
Sir Alex Ferguson showed two different sides to referees during his time at Old Trafford as Man Utd manager
Sir Alex Ferguson was well-known for ensuring his iron rule as Manchester United manager and the ex-Aberdeen boss could be ruthless at times with his decisions.
The legendary former Red Devils manager was not afraid to put one of his United players on blast with his infamous hairdryer treatments during his managerial reign.
Former Premier League referee Peter Walton admitted that Ferguson was the toughest manager he had to deal with during his time as a match official.
When asked about the toughest manager in his career, he told FootballFanCast: “Sir Alex Ferguson.
“He didn’t win what he wanted by being a shrinking violet. He didn’t keep United at the top of the tree for so many years by being nice to everybody.
“I’ve received the hairdryer treatment for sure.”
Peter Walton claimed that the referee’s room at Old Trafford was next to Ferguson’s office and the ex-match official would pop his head into the United legend’s room.
However, even the 65-year-old was in for a rude awakening after Ferguson lost his temper with Walton after what he did in one United match.
“The manager’s office at Old Trafford is next to the referee’s room at Old Trafford and at the end of a game I’d go in there, I’d pop the door open and say cheerio,” Walton continued.
“Normally that would be met with ‘thanks very much, see you next time’ but they played Portsmouth one night and Man United lost two full-backs through injury.”
What did former Premier League referee Peter Walton do to annoy Sir Alex Ferguson in a Man Utd match?
During the 2008-09 Premier League season, Peter Walton was the referee for United’s clash with Portsmouth at Old Trafford in April 2009.
Ferguson lost former United defenders Gary Neville and John O’Shea to injuries after the match and Walton felt the full extent of the former United manager’s wrath.
“One was when one of the Neville lads kicked through and caught the studs of an opponent,” Walton added.
“He got hurt – it was not a foul – the other one was a foul, I gave the foul. After the game, I tapped on the door as I normally do and I went to say ‘cheers, all the best’ and he went absolutely ballistic at me.
“Apparently, I’d caused the loss of two full-backs and there were a few Anglo-Saxon words in there. Of course, he always had a very short fuse.”
United would beat Portsmouth 2-0 at Old Trafford in the Premier League match, despite the injury blows to Gary Neville and John O’Shea at the time.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
