PATRICK VIEIRA sparked a fresh war of words by claiming referees give Manchester United preferential treatment.United opened a three-point gap over rivals Manchester City by beating Fulham 1-0 on Monday.
But ref Michael Oliver denied Martin Jol's men a clear penalty when Michael Carrick fouled Danny Murphy late on.
And Vieira, City's football development executive, insisted: "When United play at home they get some advantage that other teams don't get.
"When you go to United, Madrid, Barcelona or Milan, it's always difficult for the referee to go against these kind of teams.
"It's something teams who are used to winning get all the time."
Vieira, speaking as representative of Football Against Hunger at the Soccerex con- ference in Manchester, later insisted his comments were not a direct criticism of United.
The Frenchman last week claimed that United bringing Paul Scholes, 37, out of retirement smacked of desperation.
That brought an angry response from boss Alex Ferguson who pointed to Roberto Mancini allowing Carlos Tevez back in his squad after claiming he was finished at the Etihad.
But Vieira, 35, insisted: "We're glad Carlos is back. The issue was between him and the club but the players were really pleased to see him back."
The former Arsenal star believes City deserve to win the title this season.
He said: "This is our moment. We've been the best team since the start of the season and played the best football.
"But when you are first you have the advantage, so United are favourites."
No comments:
Post a Comment