The group, who run a popular website in Norway, published quotes from Ferguson which are in turn believed to have been carried by some leading British newspapers.

"A feather has become 35 hens here. It might seem like we are to blame for what has happened," admitted the branch's webmaster Steinar Madsen to Aftonposten.

"We are to the blame in the sense how the interview was presented. Ferguson didn't mention the name Berbatov when he was interviewed by us.

"I would call it a misunderstanding. It was tricky conditions for the interview.

"As journalists, you have probably experienced this yourself, how it is to listen to the tape afterwards.

"That can cause problems and Ferguson's accent is not too easy to understand to start with.

"Ferguson confirmed that United had tabled an offer.

"We assumed it was Berbatov he was talking about. We might have taken it too far."