Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has been suspended for five matches and handed a £30,000 fine following comments he made about referee Martin Atkinson earlier this month.

Following a controversial 2-1 defeat at Chelsea Ferguson said he had "feared the worst" when Atkinson was appointed match official for the Premier League clash on March 1, adding: "You want a fair referee, or a strong referee anyway - and we didn't get that."

The FA's disciplinary board have imposed a three match touchline ban and activated a suspended two-match ban that hung over the United manager after accusing referee Alan Wiley of being "not fit" after a 2-2 draw with Sunderland at Old Trafford last season.

Ferguson will be confined to the stands for the FA Cup semi-final with Manchester City at Wembley as well as Premier League clashes with Bolton, West Ham, Fulham and Everton.

The United boss was angry over Atkinson's failure to dismiss Chelsea defender David Luiz for fouls on Javier Hernandez and Wayne Rooney after he had already been booked.

He was further upset when Chelsea were awarded what he considered a "soft" winning penalty when Yuri Zhirkov took a tumble under a challenge from United centre-back Chris Smalling.

With Premier League leaders United just three points ahead of Arsenal