London, Mar 17: Sir Alex Ferguson, manager of the Manchester United was on Mar 16 given a five-match touchline ban by the Football Association. The ban was for the comments he made about referee Martin Atkinson following his team's loss to Chelsea in Feb 2011.

In a statement issued by the Football Association (FA), it was informed that the Manchester United manager had also been asked to cough up $48,220. The ban is effective from Mar 22 and includes the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City at Wembley.

He has 48 hours to appeal against the ban.

The statement said, "The Commission found the charge of Improper Conduct relating to media comments proven, following remarks made in relation to match official Martin Atkinson in post-match interviews after Manchester United's fixture with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday 1 March 2011."

Ferguson launched a scathing attack on the the referee after his side's 2-1 loss to Chelsea at the Stamford Bridge. He was peeved at the referee's decision to not to show a second yellow card to Chelsea's striker David Luiz for a foul on Wayne Rooney.

In a post-match interview, he told MUTV, "You want a fair referee, or a strong referee anyway - and we didn't get that...I must say, when I saw who the referee was I feared it. I feared the worst."

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