Sir Alex Ferguson has "had a word" with Ashley Young amid diving accusations that have been levelled against the Manchester United winger. For the past two weekends, Young has received severe criticism for going down far too easily to earn his side penalties.

The United legend Bryan Robson has warned the former Aston Villa man that it may come back to haunt him as referees may be reluctant to award him spot-kicks in the future and Ferguson has confirmed he has spoken to the winger about the situation. "I have had a word with Ashley," the manager said. "He understands where we are coming from. Hopefully it makes a difference."

After watching this week's Champions League semi-finals, Ferguson feels we are in an era where anything goes. "Last week, if the player doesn't bring Ashley down he is going to score," the Scot said of the incident involving Aston Villa's Ciaran Clark. "It was a clear goalscoring opportunity. He caught him and he did overdo the attempt to get a penalty. I am not sure he tried to get the penalty but he certainly went down quickly. But people have reacted because it is Manchester United.

"I watched Real Madrid and Bayern Munich the other night and it was absolutely ridiculous, players were diving and rolling about, nothing like what Young has been accused of. Then you see the other night in the Chelsea game, we are in an age where you expect it now."

Ferguson continues to insist such decisions even themselves out. "We didn't get one against Wigan during the week. We didn't scream from the rooftops about it. It happens," he said. "We got one given against us for Newcastle, we didn't scream about that either. You get bad decisions and good ones. Believe me, it does even itself out."