Was It An Offensive Gesture?

Alex Ferguson has denied that an offensive gesture he made during his team's Premier League win over Reading was directed at opposition fans.

Ferguson made the hand signal when Cristiano Ronaldo scored a 90th-minute goal to complete Saturday's 2-0 win at Madejski Stadium, a result that kept the defending champions on top of the Premier League.

"All I was doing was expressing my relief in what was one of our hardest matches of the season," Ferguson said. "Reading always make it tough for us, and our players had to run so much we clocked up more kilometres than in any other game this season.

"It was relief."

United had drawn three of its past five matches with Reading and was held until the 77th minute on Saturday, when Wayne Rooney gave United the lead.

Ferguson has already been banned for two games this season for abusing a referee during a 1-0 loss at Bolton in November.