SOCCER:A WAR of words broke out between Chelsea and Manchester United last night after Alex Ferguson expressed distaste about the behaviour of Ashley Cole and his team-mates during their draw at Tottenham on Wednesday. "I think the haranguing of referees we have seen is absolutely ridiculous," said the United manager.
Avram Grant responded by complaining about the dismissal of the midfielder Mikel John Obi at Old Trafford last September, in his first game in charge. He believes the referee, Mike Dean, was pressured into the decision by a clutch of protesting United players.
Mikel was sent off for a challenge on Patrice Evra, and Chelsea were subsequently punished for surrounding Dean as they complained, with John Terry, the captain, attempting to snatch the red card from Dean's hand.
"Against Manchester United, their players ran to the referee before us," said Grant. "Maybe they are quicker, I don't know. The red card we got against Manchester United was not only to do with the decision of the referee."
Ferguson spoke out after another week in which the conduct of Chelsea's players has come under scrutiny, culminating in Ashley Cole, who faces his old club Arsenal tomorrow, issuing an apology for disrespect shown towards the referee, Mike Riley, during the draw at Tottenham.
The United manager, whose team face Liverpool tomorrow before Chelsea play Arsenal, is still aggrieved by Arsenal's behaviour when they lost 4-0 at Old Trafford in the FA Cup. He said he would never tolerate his players acting like the London clubs'. "We had a pivotal moment some years ago when our players surrounded Andy D'Urso," he said, referring to the incident in January 2000 when the referee gave a penalty to Middlesbrough at Old Trafford. "I went off my head with them about that, I thought it was ridiculous and it never happened again.
"We tell our players to shake the hand of the referee at the end of the game. Sometimes it's difficult but they have to do it. In the same way that, if we lose a game, we still make sure we invite the opposing manager into my office for a drink afterwards. We do it because we think it's important, because life goes on."
Ferguson is leaving himself open to accusations of double standards given that the Football Association is preparing a case against him, and his assistant, Carlos Queiroz, for their criticisms of Martin Atkinson after the FA Cup quarter-final defeat to Portsmouth two weeks ago.
Repeat offending has cost Chelsea €243,942 in fines and the Cole incident came a day after the FA's chairman, Lord Triesman, appealed for players to set an example. "We have been talking about respect for referees and it going down to grassroots level, and that's something I think is absolutely correct," said Ferguson, who has noted a trend of referees trying to "man-manage" offenders. "The way refereeing has changed has maybe helped the situation. On the other hand, maybe it has encouraged those players to do it even more, because the referee is unable to manage with so many players around him."
Grant also took a swipe at the Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Eboue yesterday, to illustrate his view that Cole did not deserve the vilification that has followed him since his tackle on Alan Hutton. The Ivorian left his studs in on the Chelsea captain, John Terry, when the teams met at the Emirates Stadium in December. Terry suffered three broken bones in his foot and was ruled out for two months. Eboue escaped without mass condemnation.
"I always take the point of taking responsibility," said Grant, promoting Cole's apology to both Hutton and Riley. "Another player at Arsenal whose name I will not say, tackled our captain, who went to hospital and was out for two months and he did not apologise. We are still waiting for that. Other players have made worse tackles and not been red-carded."
