Lille will regret near walk-off, says Ferguson

MANCHESTER, England, Feb 23 (Reuters) Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson says Lille will come to regret their near walk-off following the English side's controversial winning goal in their Champions League tie on Tuesday.

A quickly taken free-kick by Ryan Giggs on 82 minutes, while Lille were still organising their wall, was allowed to stand by referee Eric Braamhaar, sparking furious protests from the home players. United won the match 1-0.

The Ligue 1 side have lodged a protest with UEFA and asked for the goal to be rescinded, with the governing body set to rule later today.

UEFA are also investigating the crowd problems with United unhappy at the treatment of some of their supporters who were caught up in a crush at the Felix Bollaert stadium.

''I think we expected that (Lille protest),'' Ferguson told reporters. ''They have got a serious problem because the players did try and walk off the pitch, there's no question about it, and that was coming probably from the coach (Claude Puel).

''And I think there will be regrets in that respect. To protest against losing a goal like that is unusual.

''There are many (disputed) occasions in football, whether the ball's over the goalline or whether it's a penalty, so therefore we complain and it's natural to complain when you lose a goal in an important game but not to walk off the pitch.

''That's definitely unprecedented.'' Ferguson, who stressed that the free kick had been taken within the laws of the game, expects the second leg at Old Trafford to go ahead as scheduled.

''We expect to play in the second leg. We are preparing for that. Whatever UEFA decide to do we stand by it but at this moment in time we have date on March 7 against Lille,'' he added.

UEFA are also looking into the crowd problems after some United fans had to be lifted onto the pitch to avoid being crushed.

United are not happy with how police and crowd control officials handled the situation and are collating information from supporters in that area of the ground, which included Ferguson's son Mark and captain Gary Neville's father Neville.

''We are still getting a lot of reports in about that. I think the club are dealing with it the right way,'' Ferguson said.

''My own son was in the crowd and Gary Neville's father was in the crowd so there's always that worry for their safety.

''It's in UEFA's hands but I think the club have dealt with it in the right way and I think we are confident about our situation.'' United return to Premier League action on Saturday knowing that victory at Fulham will give them a nine-point advantage over second-placed Chelsea, who play in the League Cup final against Arsenal on Sunday.

Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo are expected to shake off minor injuries sustained in Lille.

REUTERS PM RK2001