Sir Alex Ferguson's animosity towards the BBC shows no sign of abating as he accuses the corporation of being "arrogant beyond belief". The Manchester United manager's acrimonious relationship with the BBC came to a head in 2004, when he was deeply unhappy about a television documentary which probed the business dealings of his son Jason, an agent.
Ferguson has refused to be interviewed by the BBC since then and, speaking in Glasgow on Tuesday night, he said: "I think the BBC is the kind of company that never apologises and they will never apologise. They are arrogant beyond belief. They did a story about my son that was a whole lot of nonsense. It was all made-up stuff with 'brown paper bags' and all that kind of carry-on. It was a horrible attack on my son's honour and he should never have been accused of that."
Meanwhile, Ferguson has expressed misgivings about David Beckham's attempts to make football one of the major sports in the United States.
"In the late 1970s I went to America with Aberdeen and there were guys like [Teófilo] Cubillas there," he said. "Before that there was Pele, Cruyff and Beckenbauer. I don't know what kind of impact David can make. David Beckham can't change the whole country.
"The size of the country makes it difficult. In European football, and especially in British football, you can travel easily. But if you are in Boston, for example, and need to go to Los Angeles it's a six-hour flight. Supporters don't travel so you are missing that rivalry between fans."