The FA, stung by Ferguson's criticism of Mark Halsey's decision to take no action over van Persie's 'challenge' on Kieran Richardson, have struck back with the revelation that all Premiership managers had been invited in the summer to attend two seminars on rule changes which Ferguson did not attend.
According to reports the League Managers' Association, which played a major role in reviewing the changes to the law, were also involved in the planning of the summer seminars in Bolton and London neither of which Ferguson attended.
An FA statement read: "These information sessions were followed by the circulation of the procedures to all member clubs in the Premier League, Football League, Conference and feeder leagues, highlighting any changes. The procedures are also included in the FA Handbook and TheFA.com, along with a `layman's guide' on the website for easier understanding."
The FA added that Mark Halsey, the referee at Old Trafford on Wednesday, had watched the incident with Van Persie once again and was satisfied that he had dealt with it "appropriately".
So that's him told then!
None of which makes Halsey's decision any more palatable but at least someone at FA HQ will feel better.