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http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8652_4720753,00.html
Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo and Middlesbrough captain Emanuel Pogatetz repotredly had to be separated in the tunnel as tempers threatened to boil over as the two teams made their way down the Old Trafford at half-time during Monday night's game.
After Pogatetz grappled Ronaldo to the ground as the two players lined up for an injury-time corner, the Portuguese treated referee Martin Atkinson to a finger-wagging rebuke as he pleaded for a penalty. His complaints then carried on at the interval with the two players reportedly coming close to blows.
'The players squared up to each other and went forehead to forehead, with witnesses saying that the squabble and shouting continued into the players' tunnel, where a member of Middlesbrough's backroom staff also railed at Ronaldo,' reports The Times.
"It seemed as though Pogatetz grabbed him around the neck,'' commented Sir Alex Ferguson. "That happens in penalty boxes all the time. We've had referees coming to meet the players a couple of years ago and they said it would be stamped out with one warning and then a red card. But nothing ever happens.''
A spat involving Ronaldo does, however, seem to be an increasingly common occurrence. In recent weeks, he has kicked out at both Tottenham's Michael Dawson and Stoke's Andy Wilkinson after both players dared to tackle him.
Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo and Middlesbrough captain Emanuel Pogatetz repotredly had to be separated in the tunnel as tempers threatened to boil over as the two teams made their way down the Old Trafford at half-time during Monday night's game.
After Pogatetz grappled Ronaldo to the ground as the two players lined up for an injury-time corner, the Portuguese treated referee Martin Atkinson to a finger-wagging rebuke as he pleaded for a penalty. His complaints then carried on at the interval with the two players reportedly coming close to blows.
'The players squared up to each other and went forehead to forehead, with witnesses saying that the squabble and shouting continued into the players' tunnel, where a member of Middlesbrough's backroom staff also railed at Ronaldo,' reports The Times.
"It seemed as though Pogatetz grabbed him around the neck,'' commented Sir Alex Ferguson. "That happens in penalty boxes all the time. We've had referees coming to meet the players a couple of years ago and they said it would be stamped out with one warning and then a red card. But nothing ever happens.''
A spat involving Ronaldo does, however, seem to be an increasingly common occurrence. In recent weeks, he has kicked out at both Tottenham's Michael Dawson and Stoke's Andy Wilkinson after both players dared to tackle him.
