Manchester United fear the Premiership's referees may drive
Cristiano Ronaldo out of the country.
The Daily Mail says manager Sir Alex Ferguson and
members of the Old Trafford hierarchy had been increasingly
confident of keeping the world's best player beyond the end of this
season.
But what Ferguson describes as a lack of protection for his
player is becoming a major concern for the English and European
champions, particularly after Ronaldo clashed with referee Phil
Dowd at Craven Cottage in Fulham's surprise 2-0 victory on
Saturday.
The relationship between Ronaldo and leading referees appears to
have disintegrated and, while United accept that the Portugal
winger is partly to blame, they argue his apparent disrespect for
match officials is his response to their failure to protect
him.
Ferguson says the "systematic fouling" of Ronaldo has become a
popular 'tactic' in the Premier League and statistics do prove that
he is fouled more than any other United player.
Now there is a real worry that the opportunity to make a summer
move to Real Madrid in Spain, where referees are less tolerant of
challenges, is becoming a more attractive proposition to the FIFA
World Player of the Year.
Premiership refs deny claims they're pushing Manchester United
star Cristiano Ronaldo out of England by not protecting him.
There will be "no change" and "no special case made" towards
Ronaldo, despite Manchester United’s anger at what Sir Alex
Ferguson describes as ‘systematic fouling’ of the Portugal
playmaker, says the Daily Mail.
United fear that Ronaldo will be forced out of the club in the
summer unless he is offered more protection and a greater
understanding.
Phil Dowd, widely praised for his decision to send off Wayne
Rooney for dissent in United’s 2-0 defeat against Fulham, was asked
to take his fellow referees through a video of his performance at
Craven Cottage as they gathered for a planned conference
meeting.
He had been asked in advance to take the session — it was his
turn — and there was no special show because of the high-profile
performance on Saturday. During the session Dowd, who sent off two
United players in a game for the second time in his career, is
believed to have accepted there were errors in his display.
However, he has been given the full support of the Professional
Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL).
