Sir Alex Ferguson has hit back at Gus Poyet after the Brighton manager said Patrice Evra had "cried like a baby" over his alleged racial abuse.

Liverpool striker Luis Suarez was accused of making a racist comment at Man Utd defender Evra last month and is currently under investigation by the FA. Brighton manager Poyet said that he is backing Suarez in the row and accused Evra of overreacting.

"Gus Poyet's remarks are inappropriate at this time," said Ferguson today. "People throughout the world are condemning racism. He has chosen the wrong time.

"I can understand why he wants to support someone from his country but he has to think about it more. I don't know how the question has been loaded but it seems his criticism of Evra is a bit silly."

Ferguson revealed that the FA had asked both his side and Liverpool to keep silent about the incident while the investigation is ongoing, but suggested that the Merseyside team had not abided by their wishes.

"Liverpool have been drip-feeding a lot of stuff out over the last couple of weeks," he added. "But the FA will deal with it."