After being denied a penalty for handball by John Terry in the box, Manchester United conceded a penalty at Stamford Bridge when Zhirkov went down in the box under a challenge from Chris Smalling.
After the game, Ferguson criticised the referee and was handed a ban and fine. However, both Chelsea players and manager agreed that the ref got the match defining decisions wrong.
Smalling has today reaffirmed that the referee got it wrong but won’t be dwelling on that when returning to play Chelsea in the Champions League this week.
“I still don’t think it was a penalty and that I was hard done by,” said Smalling. “But you get those in your career and what’s important is how you react. I’ve managed to be involved, play games and keep my momentum going. I don’t feel I’ve got anything to prove.”
