'Outrageous' Refereeing Helped Victors, Says Bruce

Steve Bruce said last night that "outrageous" refereeing decisions had helped Manchester United to the victory over Wigan Athletic which guaranteed them the Premier League title.

The Wigan manager had faced questions in the build-up about whether he would go easy on his former club but he said after his team's battling display: "You should ask the referee about his integrity, not my team. I just think it was fortunate there was nothing riding on it for us.

"You have to question the referee. He made two or three horrific decisions in the first half and when people see it on TV they will agree because they were outrageous decisions."

Bruce thought a penalty should have been awarded by Steve Bennett against United's Rio Ferdinand for handball, that Paul Scholes should have been sent off for a second bookable offense and that the penalty from which Cristiano Ronaldo scored the first goal was undeserved. His comments may be scrutinized by the Football Association.

"It was surprising Rio didn't have gloves on to try and catch it," he said. "Paul Scholes is a fantastic player and one of Manchester United's all-time greats but he knows he got away with it today. He should have been sent off. And to say the penalty awarded against us was harsh is an understatement. That's three important decisions, which is frustrating to say the least."

Bruce made a point, though, of saluting United on their championship win and the contribution to the club of his former manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

"Manchester United have always had fantastic individual players but the difference with this Manchester United is that they have great strength in depth," he said. "Just look at who was on their bench today and who was not involved. It is the strength of squad you need if you are going to play 65 games a season."

Of Ferguson he told the BBC: "Winning 10 Premier Leagues will never be bettered. There will never be another one like him. It's quite incredible to manage a club like Manchester United for 20 years and to win everything that he has won is a marvelous achievement."

Bruce, a player at Old Trafford from 1987-1996, left little doubt he would like to see Ferguson lift a second European Cup when United take on Chelsea in Moscow. "It's a British team and everybody knows my allegiance because I have played there," he said. "But nobody can question the courage of my team today.

"I said all week they were a bit insulted [to have their integrity questioned] and to be fair they have played like that for the best part of two to three months. We wanted to take them on and see how far we have progressed. I think anyone who witnessed this would see Wigan had a good go and with a bit of luck might have got something out of it."

His team's efforts came as Bolton Wanderers drew with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. "That is why this league is the best in the world," Brice said. "It wouldn't happen like this on the final day in any other country. It's a terrific league."