SOCCER:Alex Ferguson wondered yesterday whether "the birds at Stamford Bridge wake up coughing" as his relationship with Jose Mourinho descended into open resentment. The Manchester United manager accused his Chelsea counterpart of bringing the game into disrepute and questioned why the Football Association in England had not taken any action against him.

Mourinho has this week alleged a refereeing conspiracy to help Manchester United win the title and accused Cristiano Ronaldo of lying when he disputed the Chelsea manager's claims that it was impossible for opposition teams to win penalties at Old Trafford.

Ferguson accused Mourinho of being "calculated" and said he was "surprised" the FA had not ordered him, to use his words, to "button his lip" after Mourinho claimed United were "forbidden to lose" and said Chelsea had been the victims of "new rules".

"Jose seems to be on some sort of a personal crusade about regulations and honesty and his suspicions in the game," Ferguson said. "He's on about changes in the regulations but I'd like to know who does he think has changed the regulations. Is it us? Or the FA? Or the Premier League? Who exactly is changing the regulations? I think the FA and the Premier League have let him off lightly on this because what he's saying is that our game is suspicious. And I think that's wrong."

In a wide-ranging attack, Ferguson highlighted what he perceives as Mourinho's paranoia. "He has accused Barcelona in the past," said the United manager. "He has accused the Swedish referee [ Anders Frisk]. He put the German referee [ Markus Merk] under pressure the other night [ before Chelsea's Champions League tie against Liverpool]. He insulted Liverpool, a club with great history. He suggested their players were going to hunt down Didier Drogba . . . Jesus Christ, it goes on and on and on. It's a rant all the time now. And that's disappointing.

"I don't think it's fair to the game itself. Ronaldo has an opinion. That doesn't mean he's a liar. Everyone has a comment or an opinion. But he [ Mourinho] is a very clever man. Everything is calculated by him. I don't think it's the strain getting to him, I think it's calculated.

"The biggest fear for us now is that by saying no one is allowed to get penalties against us at Old Trafford - when we have actually had three against us this year and there has been none at Stamford Bridge - it puts a terrible pressure on our referees in future games. That, without doubt, is calculated by him.

"The referee who gave Bolton a penalty against us a few weeks ago [ Alan Wiley] is our referee [ at Everton today]. What kind of pressure does this put him under? And if we get a penalty kick against us in the next four games, he [ Mourinho] wins, there's no doubt about that - Mourinho wins the war. And I think that's wrong."

Speaking about Chelsea's 1-0 victory over Tottenham at Stamford Bridge on April 7th, a Saturday lunchtime kick-off when Tottenham had played a Uefa Cup semi-final against Seville on the previous Thursday night, Ferguson said: "Tottenham were forced to play after only a day and a half's rest to allow Chelsea to prepare for a European tie. We're not happy with the Premier League. We have to play [ Manchester City] at 12.45pm next Saturday after a European tie in Milan [ on Wednesday]. Is that fair?

"We don't think so, but, at the same time, we are not going to make accusations that we're suspicious Chelsea and the Premier League have got it carved up. We just have to accept it.

"There are bad refereeing decisions and good decisions," Ferguson continued. "Nobody is exempt. "

Guardian Service