Chelsea interim boss Rafael Benitez has said Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson ignored his handshake before Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final.
The pair have had an increasingly fraught relationship since the Spaniard’s time at Liverpool and the tension surfaced again at Old Trafford. Benitez said: “I was waiting for him at the beginning, so you should ask him. I have education. I was ready.? “I know a lot of people were watching and I knew what to do. Benitez has been on a starvation diet when it comes to getting credit from Chelsea’s supporters since he arrived in succession to sacked Roberto Di Matteo. They must find it in their hearts to afford him some here. It’s up to him. I was in the way waiting. If you are brave enough, ask him.”
A growing animosity between Ferguson and Benitez, formerly on friendly terms, came to a head in January 2009 when the then Liverpool manager famously claimed the Scot received preferential treatment from the football authorities. “Everyone can see that I’m talking about facts,” the Liverpool manager told journalists. “I’m just saying things that everybody can see.”
Most recently, Ferguson described the former Valencia and Inter Milan boss as a “lucky manager” after he landed the post at Stamford Bridge. The pair again failed to shake hands at the final whistle on Sunday after Chelsea staged a stirring comeback from 2-0 down, goals from substitute Eden Hazard and Ramires in the second half setting up a replay at Stamford Bridge for the right to face Manchester City in the semi-final.
It is not the first controversy surrounding Ferguson and a handshake. In February 2012, when Luis Suarez refused to shake Patrice Evra’s hand before a match, Ferguson said: “I couldn’t believe Suarez refused Evra’s handshake. You saw the referee [Phil Dowd]. He didn’t know what to do. It was a terrible start to the game and it created a terrible atmosphere.