Ferguson: We must be firm on racism

Sir Alex Ferguson has called for the authorities to crack down hard on any new incident of racism in football. The Manchester United boss has been close to the centre of one such controversy - his defender Patrice Evra was racially abused by Liverpool's Luis Suarez, who has just completed the eight-match suspension imposed by the FA as punishment. Ferguson has been shocked by the re-emergence of the problem and said a tough line is needed. He told CNN: "I don't understand at all where it's coming from. This is a moment where we have to take stock and we should do something about it if it's surfacing again, and be really hard and firm on any form or shape of racism. "There have been a couple of examples recently which is not good. In 2012, you can't believe it. It was obvious maybe 20 years ago and the improvements have been for everyone to see. "I have had some fantastic black players, absolutely magnificent black players, and with every one of them I have enjoyed my working relationship with them."