6 controversies Sir Alex Ferguson had as Manchester United manager

#4 The BBC silent treatment

Ferguson refused to give interviews to BBC

Following a documentary aired by the BBC in 2003 titled Fergie and Son, which portrayed the Fergusons in a negative light, as it implied that Jason (Fergie's son) who was an agent exploited his relationship with his father to make illicit gains in the transfer market.

A livid SAF branded the documentary 'rubbish, made up stuff and brown paper bags'. As a result of this, Ferguson went on a self-imposed silence with the BBC, refusing to give the media outfit interviews, with their flagship 'Match of the Day' being conducted by his assistants Carlos Queiroz and later Mike Phelan.

Subsequent Premier League rules from the 2010/2011 season required coaches to mandatorily grant interviews to the BBC as part of the new TV deal, but Ferguson still refused to end his boycott, with Manchester United agreeing to pay the resultant fines on his behalf.

A meeting in August 2011 with BBC director general and North director finally resulted in Ferguson calling a truce and ending his seven-year boycott of the BBC.