English Premiership: Angry Sale boss Philippe Saint-André accused Bristol of cheating after they condemned his side to a surprise 10-6 defeat at Edgeley Park.
The West Country side remain top of the Guinness Premiership after completing a notable double over the reigning champions, who are now 13 points adrift after going down to a third defeat in 11 days.
Bristol number eight Dan Ward-Smith pressed his England claims with the only try of the match on 68 minutes but Saint-André insisted it should have been disallowed because of obstruction.
Ward-Smith went over unopposed directly from a scrum five metres from the Sale line, with the Sharks director of rugby arguing that Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe was illegally prevented from making the tackle.
"I feel very sad for the players because it was not a try," he said. "Their back row kept Lobbe in the scrum by pulling his jersey.
"They did the same thing against Bath last week. It's cheating. I'm very cross. We spoke to the referee about it before the game."
Bristol coach Richard Hill said: "It's certainly not a deliberate policy but everybody tries to push the rules to the limit. No side is whiter than white. I would hope my players would do everything they can to gain an advantage."
Outhalf Daniel Larrachea kicked two penalties to give Sale a 6-3 lead but his indecision failed to get his back line moving and the visitors soaked up pressure from the hard-working Sharks pack to keep their line intact.
The Sharks' hopes of retaining their Premiership crown now look remote after just one win in six matches, but Saint-André insists the fight will go on.
"The players deserved more than a point today but we need to keep going," he said. "We need some points in the table."
London Irish director of rugby Brian Smith lambasted Gloucester's rain-sodden Kingsholm pitch after his side's 15-3 defeat.
Smith said, "The pitch was rubbish. It's a shame we have to play on surfaces like that. It just isn't up to standard.
"I spoke to Dean (Ryan, Gloucester coach) and he said the same.
"When you have a running team like us, what you like to see is a contest. It was difficult on that glue pot. Both sides were very frustrated."
Olly Morgan ran in Gloucester's first try in the second minute, and replacement winger Iain Balshaw finished off a sweeping move out of their own half to touch down 70 minutes later.
Willie Walker slotted a conversion and a penalty to Shane Geraghty's sole penalty.
Elsewhere, Leicester wing Alesana Tuilagi scored two tries as the Tigers claimed a bonus-point, 28-15, win over Saracens and moved to within a point of Bristol.
Bath beat Wasps 30-19 at a sodden Recreation Ground.Worcester claimed an important away win, 10-9, over fellow strugglers Northampton. And wing David Strettle scored three second-half tries as Harlequins blitzed Newcastle 42-15.
