Southgate slams Ronaldo

Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate accused Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo of cheating after he earned his side a controversial penalty at the Riverside Stadium.

Television replays showed that Boro goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer made no contact with the Portuguese international in the 19th-minute incident which saw referee Chris Foy give Louis Saha the chance to fire his side ahead before United went on to seal a vital 2-1 victory.

Asked if Schwarzer felt he had been cheated, Southgate replied: "Yes, it is as simple as that. The lad has got a history of doing it and in the end, that has cost us the game."

He added: "It is very difficult for the referee because it happens very quickly, but how many times are we going to see it?

"If you go behind to a goal against a team like United, it is a mountain to climb.

"Our goalkeeper has done everything he can to get out of the way. There was clearly no contact, I did not think so at the time and when you see the replays there is nothing there.

"For me, it is never a penalty. I do not know what you do. That is for people who are better qualified than me to deal with.

"I am not interested in talking about him, really. He plays the way he obviously thinks is the right way. That's fine, but on the day, that has given us a mountain to climb."

Saha's spot-kick was cancelled out by substitute James Morrison's 66th-minute strike but Darren Fletcher headed home a Ryan Giggs cross two minutes later to extend United's lead over Chelsea at the top of the Barclays Premiership to six points.

Asked about the incident, United boss Sir Alex Ferguson said: "I thought it was a clear penalty to be honest with you."