Fergie's got no class! Rafa Benitez says Manchester United boss lacks 'education' after handshake snub

10 Mar 2013 22:33

Chelsea 'interim' says he was waiting for Sir Alex Ferguson to observe pre-match ritual, but the old knight blanked him!

Poor technique: Fergie and Rafa are both leading with the left here, and the positioning's all kinds of wrong. This handshake was never going to happen...

Alex Livesey

Rafa Benitez reignited his feud with Sir Alex Ferguson by accusing him of lacking "education” for refusing to shake hands before the 2-2 FA Cup draw.
Chelsea interim boss Benitez said he was waiting to shake Ferguson’s hand by the Old Trafford dug-outs prior to kick-off when the United boss allegedly blanked him.
Benitez was waiting for Ferguson in the tunnel with a photographer nearby looking to take a picture of them.
Ferguson simply ignored the Chelsea interim manager and when the photographer asked the United boss if he would stop to shake Benitez’s hand, he responded with a terse “No”.
And the Spaniard, who has clashed with Ferguson in the past, implied the United boss was uneducated for refusing to observe the pre-match handshake ritual.
Asked if Ferguson walked straight past him, Blues boss Benitez said: “Yes. I was waiting. I was waiting for him. I was waiting at the beginning.
“Ask him. I was waiting, there was nothing wrong.

Etiquette explained: Rafael Benitez of Chelsea always uses his left hand to preen his goatee. The right is 'strictly business'

Matthew Peters

 “You have to ask him [why he didn’t shake hands]. Ask him. You are brave enough, ask him.
“I was waiting, I have some education. I was waiting, I have education because I know a lot of people are watching, so I know what you have to do.”
United boss Ferguson, who does not attend domestic post-match press conferences, was not asked about the handshake controversy but admitted United were fortunate to still be in the FA Cup.
Javier Hernandez and Wayne Rooney gave United an early 2-0 lead before Eden Hazard and Ramires got Chelsea back on level terms after the break to force a replay.

Fergie: We're lucky to still be in Cup

Sir Alex Ferguson said: “We’re lucky to still be in the competition. We ran out of legs. Our two full backs, Rafael and Patrice Evra, were just knackered.
“The two centre midfield players tired badly and we just kept giving the ball away. It made it a long day for us because we had to go from one penalty box and back to our own.

Personal space issues? Fergie is quick to avoid eye contact as he delivers withering snub to large red person

Alex Livesey

“Chelsea were by far the better team in the second half. We could have been four up in the first 25 minutes but I detected there were some signs of tiredness in the way we gave the ball away.
“We have plenty of time now. We have no European games, although I don’t know when the replay will be played - probably May!
“I don’t know where it will be played and the only thing we can say is that we’re still in the competition.”
The FA will meet with the Premier League today to finalise a date for the replay, with March 17 - this Sunday - looking the most likely.

Ferdinand may face 'shove' action

Rio Ferdinand could face retrospective disciplinary action after appearing to shove Chelsea striker Fernando Torres from behind in the 85th minute.
Ferdinand admitted United were careless in allowing Chelsea back into the game and said: “We gave them the impetus to claw their way back into the game.
“We played some great football at times but were so careless at times. If you are careless you are going to get punished. That was the case.

Tired legs: Rio Ferdinand battles for the ball with Demba Ba

Alex Livesey

“There wasn’t a mental reaction to Tuesday [going out of the Campions League to Real Madrid] but maybe there was physically.
“You could see it in a few of the guys’ legs and as the game stretched and became a bit more open.
“There were some tired legs out there but that’s no excuse. We should have had the game sewn up before then.” Mirror Football