15 February,2011 08:58 AM IST | | ANI
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has become embroiled in a new sexism row over a letter he wrote to a female physiotherapist in 1994.
In the letter, which emerged after football pundits Richard Keys and Andy Gray were sacked for making sexist comments about a female assistant referee, Ferguson says that according to players, football is "very much a male sport".
"I receive hundreds of letters from young people asking for work within the club and I am sorry, but it is not possible on this occasion. However, the general thoughts of the players regarding a female physiotherapist were that they would prefer to be treated by a male physiotherapist," the Daily Star quoted Ferguson, as saying in the letter.
"Most of the players felt that football was very much a male sport and did not really like the thought of females being involved with the treatment of sports injuries within the training complex," he added.
The unnamed physiotherapist, who now works at an NHS hospital, said: "When I re-read it after the Sky row blew up, I was really quite shocked by the language."
However, a United spokesman clarified that Ferguson was talking about the thoughts of the players in the 1990s.
"The football environment is different now. We have a female physio working with the academy players," the spokesman said
