Fergie fumes at FA failure to charge Boateng
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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.' -
Looks like SAF is real eager to protect C ronaldo from any form of harm, maybe he just want him to stay at man utd for a longer term
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any manager would do the same thing to their star players, be it ronaldo , ronaldinho, kaka, drogba..etcOriginally posted by ryangian:Looks like SAF is real eager to protect C ronaldo from any form of harm, maybe he just want him to stay at man utd for a longer term -
drogba doesnt need protection la. he is rugged and rough
but ronaldo certainly faces rough players.... hope he builds his physical strength.... lucky he aint small sized. -
?? he need protection meh? his leg so fast, just ask him kick n run off lor. ppl also wont see it XD
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if u utter something to a black player u get charged real soon. double standards.
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you mean that drogba will retaliate?Originally posted by imprezaWRXSTi22B:drogba doesnt need protection la. he is rugged and rough
but ronaldo certainly faces rough players.... hope he builds his physical strength.... lucky he aint small sized. -
to be fair, drogba has been well-disciplined.Originally posted by sand king:you mean that drogba will retaliate? -
or rather i shld say tough....Originally posted by sand king:you mean that drogba will retaliate? -
