"It was a competitive game but I did not think there was one bad tackle in it," said Ferguson after the game.

"People are saying what is going on here but it is difficult to say anything about the referee. I do not want to get involved."

United, who already missed the suspended Nemanja Vidic, saw Patrice Evra, Rio Ferdinand, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov and Cristiano Ronaldo all getting booked at Stamford Bridge.

The Red Devils now face a 25,000 pounds fine by the FA for receiving too many yellows in one game.

Respect

Fergie's counterpart Luiz Felipe Scolari defended the referee's decisions after he had only one player cautioned on Sunday.

"That is what the referee is there for," said the Brazilian tactician.

"If players do not respect him, it should be yellow and red cards. It doesn't matter who you are - Liverpool or Manchester United, whoever."

Scolari highlighted the significance of losing playmaker Deco in warm-up, after the Portuguese picked up a thigh injury.

"After we lost Deco, Manchester controlled the game for 15 minutes and they played better than us," he added.

"They made a goal - and after this, we improved. We had more chances than them but we missed some chances in front of goal."