Jamie Carragher has joked that Man Utd's slump from title winners to top four chasers is down to Sir Alex Ferguson not being around to harass referees.
United have not won the Premier League since Fergie's departure in 2013, and have struggled to mount a serious challenge in the meantime.
Ferguson was renowned during his tenure for getting the match officials on side, particularly in fixtures at Old Trafford.
And Carragher teased former United defender Gary Neville that Fergie's approach is what his old club are missing.
Speaking on Sky Sports' The Football Show, Carragher quipped: "Do you think the reason Man Utd have dropped off Gary, is because Ferguson’s not into referees now? I’m deadly serious."
Neville hit back: "I think that’s libel actually. You’re suggesting that Man Utd won championships through basically buying referees."
Carragher then responded: "Well how do you go from first to falling off a cliff to seventh or eighth when you haven’t got the manager who’s intimidating referees?"
Both pundits were then given a warning from Sky producers over potentially saying something which could land the company in hot water.
Neville explained on Friday's show: "Just for the fans at home, every so often we have directors and producers shouting in our ears ‘careful you two, careful’.
"Every time he [Carragher] mentions a referee or I mention Boris Johnson they go into meltdown."
The pair are often at loggerheads on the show and regularly run the risk of stepping over the mark.
Back in December, Neville and Sky Sports presenter Dave Jones were involved in a showdown after the pundit had criticised the UK government.
Presenter Dave Jones then jumped in to say: "And guess who normally has to try and clear it up?!"
Before Neville joked: "These are not the views of Gary Neville or Jamie Carragher, by the way.
"I waited four months for that, it felt like the right moment."
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