Jonjo Shelvey once shockingly labeled legendary Sir Alex Ferguson a “Scottish bastard” after he blamed him for a red card. But the former England star was taken aback by the iconic manager’s casual reaction.
The midfielder joined Liverpool in 2010 and played under Roy Hodgson and Kenny Dalglish before Brendan Rodgers took over. Shelvey started the opening game of the 2012/13 season against Manchester United, but was shown a red card in the first half following a challenge from Jonny Evans. United won 2-1 with goals from Rafael and Robin van Persie, but all eyes were on Shelvey’s reaction to his sending off.
Speaking on the Undru The Cosh podcast, the 33-year-old revealed exactly what he said to Fergie, who stormed off the Anfield pitch in a fit of anger.
“I still think it was a good tackle. My dad put up a picture in his little apartment of me and Jonny Evans coming in. His feet looked like he was going in with both feet[into the tackle]and mine was more like a scissors[kick].”
“I think the referee was Mark Halsey. He sent me off, but when I got up I could see Fergie in the fourth official’s ear. I’m thinking, ‘This is a one-way street.’
“Don said, “Get him sent off.” And it was a very big game, Liverpool against Manchester United. On the way home, I lost and said: “It’s your fault you got sent off, you Scottish bastard.”
Despite this apparent frustration and disrespectful attitude, Ferguson harbored no ill will and actually praised his opponent’s passionate nature.
Shelby added, “But I met him after the game and I just said, ‘Look, I apologize for the way I spoke, it was my fault.’ He said, “No, don’t worry, I like it.”
“That was it, and then I played against his team again and I became good friends with him. I think it was just blown out of proportion because of the size of the game, but he was spot on. I just said, ‘Don’t worry.’
Shelvey later apologized on social media for his reaction to the red card, but couldn’t help but criticize Fergie more subtly.
In a post on X, he said: “I’m sorry to the fans for being sent off, but there was no way he would have made such a tackle in such an important game. I’m sorry.”
“I also apologized to Sir Alex Ferguson. Where I come from, you don’t do things that make people uncomfortable just to get someone sent off.”
United won the Premier League trophy that season, but Shelvey had to scrape by with a seventh-place finish against Liverpool.
