OH, THE PUBLICITY

Last updated : 19 February 2003 By Editor

Sir Alex Ferguson tells it as it is.

"Contrary to reports, David Beckham did not have two stitches - it was a graze which was dealt with by the doctor," he said.

"There is no problem and we move on. That is all there is to say.

"First and foremost I have to stress that in 29 years as a manager and a coach, whatever happens in the dressing room remains sacrosanct.

"There is no way I would betray the trust of the players however much benefit there may be. It never works that way, loyalty is 100% - never any less than that.

"The publicity it has created? The only reaction I have to that is that it was a freakish incident. If I tried it 100 or a million times it couldn't happen again.

"If it did I would have carried on playing!"

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