• Manager felt Bayern players influenced referee's decision
• 'They got him sent off ... typical Germans'
Sir Alex Ferguson slammed the behaviour of the Bayern Munich players for their part in Rafael da Silva's red card during Manchester United's Champions League exit at the hands of the German side.
Several Bayern players seemed to gather around the referee, Nicola Rizzoli, after Rafael appeared to pull back Franck Ribéry and the Manchester United manager, described their behaviour as being that of 'typical Germans'.
The Italian official subsequently showed United's Brazilian full-back his second yellow card and United were forced to play the final 40 minutes with 10 men.
'There is no doubt about it,' Ferguson told ITV when asked if the dismissal had changed the course of the game. 'They were never getting through that tie; with 11 men we had no problem. The young boy showed a bit of inexperience but they got him sent off. Everyone sprinted towards the referee – typical Germans.'
The Scot also believed United had been the better side across the two legs. 'We played better today than they did in their own ground. Without the extra man they made the ball work and I thought we defended very well. It's taken an exceptional strike to settle the tie. We have done well, the performance was excellent, we were very unlucky.'
Ferguson's gamble on starting Wayne Rooney appeared to backfire when he was withdrawn after 55 minutes, the same time as Rafael's dismissal, but Ferguson denied that playing had worsened his ankle problem. 'I don't think it is serious. It's just that tissue and the blood vessel has just burst. I am sure he'll be fine for the following week.
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