ALEX Ferguson will have to watch the all-Manchester FA Cup semi-final from the Wembley stands after paying the penalty for his outspoken criticisms of referees with a record five-match touchline ban.

The Manchester United manager has also been fined €34,500 after the Football Association found him guilty of improper conduct and decided to take a hard-line stance over his decision to fight the charge rather than accept that he had gone too far in his condemnation of Martin Atkinson after United’s league defeat at Chelsea earlier this month.