Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson admitted he told referee Mark Clattenburg "what I thought" of him before being dismissed at Bolton.Ferguson was ordered from the Reebok Stadium dug-out by Clattenburg midway through his United side's 1-0 defeat on Saturday, and was forced to watch the second half from the stands as his side fell to Nicolas Anelka's early effort.
The Red Devils chief was furious at Clattenburg's failure to clamp down on what he felt were over-aggressive tactics from the relegation-threatened hosts, who recorded their first home win over United since December 1978.
And he waited for the official - whom he hailed as one of the best in the Premier League only a month ago - by the tunnel at the interval to offer a piece of his mind.
"I told the referee what I thought - some referees don't like that. They don't like the truth," said Ferguson.
"But I just told him how bad he was in the first half.
"I know Bolton are battling for their lives at the bottom but they were a bit aggressive and we were looking for some protection from the referee.
"The first half was just a shambles. It was foul after foul after foul. I felt they were over-physical and there were two or three really dodgy tackles. You hope the referee is strong enough to handle it. But he wasn't."
Ferguson was particularly annoyed at the treatment meted out to full-back Patrice Evra, who was on the wrong end of a series of firm challenges even if he was fortunate to escape being booked himself for a late tackle on Kevin Davies.
"I don't know whether they targeted him but the poor lad seemed to be involved in everything. There were some terrible tackles on him."
However, opposite number Gary Megson, who was presiding over his first win in six matches as Bolton manager, refused to make any apology for his team's committed performance.
"We were third from bottom of the table," he said. "I asked my team to be aggressive.
"The worst tackle was by a centre-forward (Davies), who is not a particularly good tackler.
"We have to compete. That is the idea. You won't get me criticising my team for that. You would only get complaints if they don't.
"The referee saw nothing untoward. He didn't send anyone off."
Ferguson was honest enough to admit his side did not deserve to win.
Given their lack of clear opportunities, Carlos Tevez wasting the best one, it is debatable whether United even deserved a point as they slumped to their first defeat since mid-August and fell three points adrift of league leaders Arsenal, who also have a game in hand.
Although the visitors were without Cristiano Ronaldo with a thigh strain, it was the absence of Nemanja Vidic with a back problem that caused United more problems given it was a mistake by the Serbian's replacement, Gerard Pique, which gifted Anelka his 11th-minute winner.
"It looked like Gerard jumped too soon," said Ferguson.
"We do not like losing but sometimes you have to take defeats, it is part of the game.
"We have players of great quality and I am sure we will bounce back."
While Ferguson headed back down the M61 licking his wounds, Megson was finally able to celebrate, not just the victory but the sight of his team climbing out of the relegation zone.
"It was a terrific performance in terms of work-rate, desire and drive," said Megson.
"We have an awful lot going for us and I have no qualms is saying we will get out of this position."
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