Sir Alex Ferguson has condemned the Football Association's failure
to charge Middlesbrough's George Boateng for his verbal attack on
Cristiano Ronaldo.
In the aftermath of Boro's FA Cup quarter-final defeat to
Manchester United at Old Trafford a fortnight ago, Boateng claimed
Ronaldo was risking serious injury because of the embarrassment he
was causing to opponents with his trickery.
James Morrison was sent off in the latter stages of the loss for a
scything tackle on the Portugal winger, who had been delighting the
home fans with his array of dazzling skills.
The incident prompted Boateng to warn Ronaldo that `one day,
someone will hurt him properly'.
Ferguson has noted the FA's lack of involvement compared with UEFA,
who have already launched an investigation into similar comments
made by Belgium goalkeeper Stijn Stijnen ahead of last weekend's
Euro 2008 qualifier in Lisbon, when Ronaldo scored twice.
'UEFA are investigating the goalkeeper's comments but the FA have
done nothing about Boateng, which is surprising,' said the United
manager.
'If one of our players had said something like that, we would have
been up there right away. The letter would probably have been
written the day before.'
Ferguson has ruled out the possibility of United making a formal
complaint but the Scot is clearly unhappy with the comments,
especially as Ronaldo is only displaying the type of skills seen so
rarely during intense combat at the highest level.
'The lad practises every day and he does it for a reason,' he
said.
'He practises to express himself on a football field. To display
his artistry and talent. That boy was born to do that.
'Should we tell him not to beat a man and kick it into the stand
instead? I am sure that would be far more acceptable to our
opponents.'
Ferguson will certainly hope no harm befalls Ronaldo in Rome on
Wednesday as the brilliant winger is a key figure in the Red Devils
hopes of gaining a crucial advantage in the first leg of their
Champions League quarter-final at the Olympic Stadium.
Although Roma appear to have been constructed in a typical Italian
style by coach Luciano Spalletti, Ferguson does not expect the
Serie A outfit to try to intimidate Ronaldo.
And even if they do, the United boss is confident the 22-year-old
will not be kicked out of the game.
'The great thing about Cristiano is that as soon as he gets fouled,
he gets up and he wants the ball again,' said Ferguson.
'George Best had the same type of courage.
'He was not going to be bullied or intimidated by anyone. That is a
fantastic attitude for any young person to have.'
The Old Trafford club are yet to discover who will referee the game
but Ferguson is hoping the official is strong enough to handle what
is sure to be an intimidating atmosphere created by an
80,000-strong crowd.
In fairness, the Scot has had few complaints this season, aside
from the first FA Cup tie at Middlesbrough when he felt Ronaldo was
not given enough protection.
'In the main, it is not so bad,' said Ferguson.
'Referees are far more aware of the situation now. We have looked
at the tapes of George Best and some of the tackles and kickings he
had to endure. There is no chance of you getting that kind of
tolerance from referees nowadays.
'There is nothing wrong with good tackles at all. It is a great
part of the game.
'But kicking players and intimidating them to a level where they
are put out of the game altogether, that is a different matter
entirely.'
