Sir Alex Ferguson tonight revealed the depth of his anger at being charged by the Football Association for comments about the referee Alan Wiley when he stomped out of a Uefa press conference in Moscow after the issue was raised.

The Manchester United manager was this week charged by the FA with improper conduct for questioning Wiley's fitness and took offence to a polite question on the subject ahead of tomorrow evening's Champions League game at CSKA Moscow.

Asked how he felt about having to explain himself to English football's governing body, Ferguson replied: "Silly question, gets no answer." When another reporter interjected with "It's not a silly question", the United manager bristled visibly. "I'm not answering that," he said, rising from his chair, turning on his heel and heading briskly for the exit, pausing only to issue a curt "Good night".

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Although Ferguson had spent the previous 20 minutes fielding questions from English and Russian journalists, he had been terse throughout.

At one stage he said that even returning to the Luzhniki Stadium – scene of United's Champions League final triumph against Chelsea 17 months ago – did not particularly "excite" him. "It's in the past, you have to move on," said Ferguson, glaring at his questioner.

United's manager has just under two weeks to respond to the charge issued by the FA following his reflections on Wiley's physical condition after United's 2-2 draw against Sunderland. He claimed the official was "not fit".

Ferguson has made various apologies and there appears to be no precedent for a touchline ban, on the evidence of similar cases which involved comments made to the media, but referees have been widely outraged by the affair and the ruling body is under pressure to be seen not letting United's manager off lightly. Last night's walkout may just serve to embolden them a little.