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.
Refs deny pushing Man Utd's Ronaldo out of England.
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).
should go italy he can join the diving sensation!
