FERGIE FRUSTRATES FEYENOORD

Sir Alex Ferguson was under attack from a rival European boss last night after
being nominated for a top coaching award - by a panel he sits on.

Feyenoord chairman Jorien van den Herik is angry that trophyless Fergie was
included in the three-man short-list for the UEFA Trainer of the Year award
while his own coach Bert van Marwijk was ignored despite his side lifting the
UEFA Cup. And the Feyenoord chairman's concern intensified when he
discovered that Ferguson was himself on the technical panel, chaired by ex-
Scotland boss Andy Roxburgh, of eight experts - including Arsenal boss
Arsene Wenger and Liverpool's Gerard Houllier - which nominated the three
candidates.

Sir Alex Ferguson, Real Madrid's Champions League winner Vicente Del
Bosque and Klaus Toppmoeller of losing finalists Bayer Leverkusen will
compete for the award to be handed out in Monaco later this month. But
despite the fact that Ferguson insists he did not cast a vote, van den Herik
has now written to UEFA general secretary Gerhard Aigner demanding a
probe.

The Feyenoord chairman said: "I am now confronted with the statement that
Ferguson was given the opportunity to nominate himself. "That's why I have
emailed Gerhard Aigner for clarification." Feyenoord's claims are understood
to have infuriated Ferguson, who contacted UEFA personally last night to
insist he had stood down from the panel when his name came up to avoid
accusations of a conflict of interest.