carlyluvsunited
05-12-2007, 01:47 AM
Referee under fire for Cristiano Ronaldo ‘dive’ booking
The psychological warfare between Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsčne Wenger has
been a fixture for more than a decade, but, while the Manchester United
manager attempted to pile on the pressure against his great adversary last night
by claiming that Arsenal “will drop points”, the champions’ most immediate
concern appears not to be the title race, but the perceived victimisation of
Cristiano Ronaldo by referees.
Ferguson criticised Rob Styles after the official booked Ronaldo for diving during
United’s 2-0 win over Fulham at Old Trafford on Monday evening, when the
Portugal winger should have been awarded a penalty after being caught by Antti
Niemi, the goalkeeper. Ryan Giggs, the captain, has echoed his manager’s claims
that Ronaldo is suffering as a result of his previous reputation for going to
ground too easily.
“I think he is paying for his reputation,” Giggs, the winger, said. “He did have a
reputation [for diving] when he first came over here, but that has gone now. It is
hard for the referee. Everything happens quickly, Ronny is running so fast and he
has to make a split-second decision.
“Maybe he didn’t give it [a penalty] because there was no contact, but Ronny was
trying to avoid the goalkeeper and his [Niemi’s] arms followed his legs. That is
not simulation. Everyone thinks it is a penalty and if the referee looks back on it,
he may feel he has made a mistake.”
Ferguson suggested that Niemi had “conned” Styles by immediately claiming that
Ronaldo had dived, although it was not the first time the referee had made a big
error. Styles was forced to apologise to Rafael BenÍtez, the Liverpool manager,
this season after awarding Chelsea a penalty when Florent Malouda, challenged
by Steve Finnan, fell after he jumped to allow a pass to run through to Didier
Drogba. The decision cost Liverpool victory, but it is unlikely that Keith Hackett,
the general manager of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited, the
referees’ governing body, will take as dim a view of Styles’s latest mistake.
While Ronaldo continues to divide opinion, few doubt his exceptional ability. His
two goals against Fulham took his total for the season to 13 and Giggs believes
that he is virtually unplayable. “Cristiano is on fire,” he said. “He is strong in the
air, his volleying technique is fantastic and he is scoring virtually all the goals.”
Like Giggs, Ferguson believes that the title race is starting to take shape, with
the so-called “big four” of Arsenal, United, Chelsea and Liverpool occupying the
top four positions, but he is convinced that Wenger’s team, who are top, will slip
up sooner rather than later.
“We’d like to be three points better off,” Ferguson, whose team trail Arsenal by
three points having played a game more, said. “If we hadn’t lost to Bolton, we
would have been in a great position. Arsenal are playing well, but it’s a long
season and they know that, too. They will drop points, there’s no doubt about
that.”
Giggs said: “We have said all season the league is going to be tight. We are not
too bothered about being top at the turn of the year, but as long as we are
thereabouts, we will be happy.”www.thetimes.co.uk
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The psychological warfare between Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsčne Wenger has
been a fixture for more than a decade, but, while the Manchester United
manager attempted to pile on the pressure against his great adversary last night
by claiming that Arsenal “will drop points”, the champions’ most immediate
concern appears not to be the title race, but the perceived victimisation of
Cristiano Ronaldo by referees.
Ferguson criticised Rob Styles after the official booked Ronaldo for diving during
United’s 2-0 win over Fulham at Old Trafford on Monday evening, when the
Portugal winger should have been awarded a penalty after being caught by Antti
Niemi, the goalkeeper. Ryan Giggs, the captain, has echoed his manager’s claims
that Ronaldo is suffering as a result of his previous reputation for going to
ground too easily.
“I think he is paying for his reputation,” Giggs, the winger, said. “He did have a
reputation [for diving] when he first came over here, but that has gone now. It is
hard for the referee. Everything happens quickly, Ronny is running so fast and he
has to make a split-second decision.
“Maybe he didn’t give it [a penalty] because there was no contact, but Ronny was
trying to avoid the goalkeeper and his [Niemi’s] arms followed his legs. That is
not simulation. Everyone thinks it is a penalty and if the referee looks back on it,
he may feel he has made a mistake.”
Ferguson suggested that Niemi had “conned” Styles by immediately claiming that
Ronaldo had dived, although it was not the first time the referee had made a big
error. Styles was forced to apologise to Rafael BenÍtez, the Liverpool manager,
this season after awarding Chelsea a penalty when Florent Malouda, challenged
by Steve Finnan, fell after he jumped to allow a pass to run through to Didier
Drogba. The decision cost Liverpool victory, but it is unlikely that Keith Hackett,
the general manager of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited, the
referees’ governing body, will take as dim a view of Styles’s latest mistake.
While Ronaldo continues to divide opinion, few doubt his exceptional ability. His
two goals against Fulham took his total for the season to 13 and Giggs believes
that he is virtually unplayable. “Cristiano is on fire,” he said. “He is strong in the
air, his volleying technique is fantastic and he is scoring virtually all the goals.”
Like Giggs, Ferguson believes that the title race is starting to take shape, with
the so-called “big four” of Arsenal, United, Chelsea and Liverpool occupying the
top four positions, but he is convinced that Wenger’s team, who are top, will slip
up sooner rather than later.
“We’d like to be three points better off,” Ferguson, whose team trail Arsenal by
three points having played a game more, said. “If we hadn’t lost to Bolton, we
would have been in a great position. Arsenal are playing well, but it’s a long
season and they know that, too. They will drop points, there’s no doubt about
that.”
Giggs said: “We have said all season the league is going to be tight. We are not
too bothered about being top at the turn of the year, but as long as we are
thereabouts, we will be happy.”www.thetimes.co.uk
Click below to join manutdtalk.com forums to read and
discuss all breaking news on all things United !!! Come talk to us….
http://manutdtalk.com/forums/register.php