Harsh words from Ferguson over League's plans

English Premier League:There was fresh opposition to the Premier League's "international round" yesterday from the very territories which it wishes to conquer, as well as harsh words from Alex Ferguson, Manchester United's manager.

Junji Ogura, who as a Fifa executive-committee member is one of the four most powerful men in Asian football, yesterday led the chorus attacking the league's proposal to take competitive fixtures overseas. Ogura is a vice-president of Japan's football association, the JFA, and he spoke yesterday of the need to protect his clubs from invasion.

"It sounds problematic," Ogura said. "We are, in principle, opposed to having (Premier League) games in Japan as we have to protect our league and clubs. In Japan, we don't allow anyone to play a match that involves only foreign clubs and no Japanese clubs.

"You cannot have your matches outside your region without having an approval from the relevant confederation and national association. I don't know if the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) will give approval to the Premier League's overseas matches but they may well oppose the Premier League's plans in order to protect their own associations."

Meanwhile, Ferguson hit out at the way in which the new plan was communicated, accusing the Premier League of a complete lack of respect for pursuing its global expansion policy without any consultation with managers or players.

While he refused to be drawn on the implications of the controversial scheme yesterday, he insisted the League had made an unconvincing start by failing to keep the project a secret. Not excusing his own chief executive and FA board member, David Gill, for blame, the Scot also condemned the lack of dialogue between the producers and stars of the potential Premier League roadshow and claimed managers remain unaware of the details.

"I don't want to get into it because I will lose my temper," said Ferguson. "What I will say, though, is that it is disrespectful not to have been consulted. Some people cannot get out their offices quick enough to tell their pals in the press. They are blabber-mouths down there. What disappoints me is that David Gill phoned me before the meeting and said to keep it quiet. David said: 'We are going to be consulted so not to say a word'. The next thing it is all over the papers and then I put on Sky this morning and there it is!"

Arsene Wenger, while welcoming the idea, has also been angered by the Premier League's handling of this proposal and wants officials to improve their links with the game's leading figures. "Before a decision is made, they have to speak to the managers and the players. This is still something that is not right in this country," said the Frenchman. "Clubs have a new global fan-base and I don't believe having a pre-season tour is enough now. Those fans want to see competitive football. At the moment, 10 per cent of our fans have access to competitive games and 90 per cent don't."

The League Managers Association has said it will canvass its members before deciding whether or not to back the proposal, which at this stage is scheduled for the start of the 2010-2011 season with the games spread across five cities.

There was support for the plan from England's north-east. Kevin Keegan supported the notion that the world would come to see Premier League games, while Roy Keane was more enthusiastic. "I have to say I think it's great. I know our fans and I know they would probably find a way of travelling in numbers, even if it is on the moon - particularly if it is against Newcastle."

In Asia there is dismay that 61 per cent of all football revenues in the continent are channelled to the Premier League, which has suffocated development of the indigenous game. "(Asian fans) say they support Manchester United or Liverpool or Real Madrid but they'll buy the shirt and that's it," Clare Kenny Tipton, the AFC's director of marketing, told the Asian Football Business Reviewlast year.

But Mohamed bin Hammam, president of the AFC and Fifa executive-committee member, has worked to counter the Premier League's attempts to colonise his continent. Manchester United were forced to withdraw from a close-season fixture in Kuala Lumpur last July after Malaysia's football association threatened legal action because the game was scheduled during its hosting of the Asian Cup.

That is manifest in a plan to ban all foreign tours during the next tournament's finals, in Qatar in January. But the Premier League's proposals - to head overseas in January - would run counter to the AFC initiatives. "We have two windows to organise our competition," said Bin Hammam. "It is the calendar Fifa has drawn up. We respect this calendar and we are expecting understanding from the major clubs in Europe and the major leagues in Europe."

• Guardian Service