Alex Ferguson has opened up on the sectarian divide in Glasgow, and says he regrets not telling a Rangers director to 'fuck off' over a jibe about his wife.
Ferguson tells the new documentary, Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In, about his experience in signing for the Ibrox club.
Alex Ferguson on Rangers
“Glasgow is a city where there is a divide. It is Protestant and Catholic, Rangers and Celtic," Ferguson said.
“I heard Rangers wanted to sign me and of course having supported Rangers as a boy and having lived 200 yards from the ground I was pretty excited about it.
“I put on my best suit and went across to Ibrox. The big marble hall, it is quite impressive.
“When I signed for Rangers, one of the directors asked me about Cathy.
“He says, ‘I have to ask you a question about your wife. I believe she is Catholic, were you married in a chapel?’.
“I said, ‘No we got married in the registry office,’ and he says, ‘Oh, that’s OK’.
“I should have told him to f*** off.
"I really should have but having supported Rangers as a boy and having the opportunity to go out and play for Rangers, you are prepared to take nonsense."
Sectarianism
Ferguson opened up about his feelings on the sectarian element to the game in Scotland.
“I let myself down there and I let my wife down – that was the most important thing – because she was a devout Catholic.”
Ferguson also said that his experiences at Ibrox were unhappy in the main, and believes that the club scapegoated him for a defeat to Celtic in the 1969 Scottish Cup final.
“My memories with Rangers weren’t very happy.
“I was completely bombed out, training on my own [after the final].
“I can only assume it was because of Cathy being a Catholic. I’m sure of it.”
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