Mourinho 'rants' get Ferguson's response

Jose Mourinho came under attack from all sides last night as his rivals for the Premiership, FA Cup and Champions League accused the Chelsea manager of conducting a calculated "war" against referees, disrespect and of questioning the integrity of the English game. On the plus side, at least his talk of a conspiracy finally has foundation.

Leading the onslaught was Sir Alex Ferguson, as three seasons' bonhomie between the Manchester United manager and his Stamford Bridge counterpart disintegrated amid the intensity of a title race, with potential for further twists this lunchtime when the leaders travel to fifth-placed Everton and Chelsea entertain sixth-placed Bolton.

Ferguson had refused to rise to Mourinho's assertion that "new rules" prevented penalties from being awarded against United and for Chelsea earlier this week, but, with the Portuguese also accusing his compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo of lying over that particular debate, the Scot launched a withering condemnation of his opponent yesterday.

"I am surprised no action has been taken against him. He just seems to go on and on and on," the United manager said. "Jose seems to be on some sort of personal crusade about regulations and honesty, suspicions in the game. Everyone has an opinion. Ronaldo has an opinion. That doesn't mean he is a liar.

"He is on about us changing the regulations but I'd like to know who's changing the regulations?" he added. "Is it us? The FA [Football Association]? The Premier League? Uefa? I think the FA and the Premier League have let him off lightly with that, because what he is saying is our game is suspicious and that is wrong.

"He has abused Barcelona, he's abused the Swedish referee [Anders Frisk], he put the German referee [Markus Merk] under pressure the other night, he insulted Liverpool, a club with a great history, and suggested their players were going to hunt down [Didier] Drogba. He's gone on and on and on. It is a rant all the time now and I don't think it is fair to the game."

Mourinho insinuated that Liverpool were a small club before their Champions League semi-final this week because their recent successes have come in cup competitions and, though anxious to avoid igniting another war of words, Rafael Benitez could not allow the slur on England's most successful club to pass yesterday. "I think Mourinho has made a big mistake by talking about the history of our club," the Liverpool manager said. "Our history is massive. He can't say anything about it. In the last three years alone, we've won four trophies. But that's his style, and everybody knows about it."

Ferguson understands Mourinho's style because he wrote the book on managerial mind-games and exerting undue influence, but, while it has been suggested that the Chelsea manager's recent outburts are signs of strain, his opposite number at Old Trafford believes it is an attempt to reclaim the title by any means possible over the remaining four games.

The United manager continued: "He's a very clever man and in some people's eyes he's a hero. I don't know who is a villain and who is a hero. The biggest fear for us is that by citing the fact we are not allowed to get penalties at Old Trafford - and we have had three against us this year and there have been none at Stamford Bridge - it puts a terrible pressure on the referees. That, without doubt, is a calculated move by him. If we get a penalty against us in the next four games, he wins. No doubt about that, Mourinho wins that war."

There will be a hostile reception awaiting United at Goodison Park when Wayne Rooney returns to his former club for a reunion with David Moyes, the Everton manager who is in the process of suing the England international for libel over allegations in his recent autobiography. "It's not nice to read about all that," admitted Ferguson, who may have Louis Saha on the bench today and could have Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand available for next Wednesday's Champions League semi-final in Milan. "David will be getting proper legal advice I'm sure, but I wish it would be dropped. It doesn't do anyone any good."

No way Jose: Mourinho v Manchester United

'This is a season in which United have had no injuries and every player is fine to play. They go to the Champions League and have a disallowed goal for the opponent [Lille] and their goal is that goal [Ryan GIggs' quickly taken free-kick]. They go to Fulham and it looks like they deserve to lose and they win. They play at Tottenham, its 0-0 and Cristiano does that [using his hands to signify diving], they get a penalty and win 4-0. It looks like everything is on their side but that football.' - Chelsea's manager, Jose Mourinho, Feb 2007

'This is the only time we have had to play before United and that's because we control the fixtures. Just imagine if we didn't control them!' - Mourinho hits back at Sir Alex Ferguson's claim that Chelsea engineered their game with Tottenham to take place just 39 hours after Spurs' Uefa Cup match in Seville, April 2007

'If he says it's a lie Manchester United have conceded some penalties this season which have not been awarded against them he's lying. Ronaldo is a great player, perhaps the best in the world. But he needs to be mature enough to accept you cannot argue against facts. And if you lie then you may never reach the level which he aspires to as a footballer.' - Mourinho on Portuguese TV, April 2007

'The circumstances are difficult for us with the new football rules that we have to face. It is not possible to have a penalty against Manchester United. It is not possible to have a penalty in favour of Chelsea. We should have had a penalty, involving Stephen Carr, it was a clear penalty. I have the right to speak. I think nobody can punish me because I speak the truth and I am not saying the referees are not honest. But yesterday was a penalty and today was a penalty - and if somebody wants to punish me for that it means the end of democracy and we go back to old times.' - April 2007 after 0-0 draw at Newcastle.