The League Managers' Association has jumped to the defence of Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson.

Ferguson has been charged for his rant against ref Martin Atkinson after defeat at Chelsea.

Richard Bevan, the chief executive of the League Managers' Association, defended Ferguson, saying he was entitled to be angered by Atkinson missing a foul by David Luiz on Rooney that should have earned the Chelsea defender a second yellow card.

"He [Ferguson] is a man who, since 1986, has been building high-performance teams and when mistakes are made he will get angry, and in the 76th minute that was a big mistake," Bevan said.

"If you're going to interview managers after a game when so much is riding on these games, particularly a game of such high profile, then unfortunately you will get emotions going over."