Cris In leg break fear !!!

...One player suggested that the best way to stop Cristiano Ronaldo... would be break his leg at the first opportunity......

Sir Alex Ferguson’s fears of a witch-hunt against Cristiano Ronaldo were heightened yesterday when the Manchester United winger was subjected to astonishing threats from the Belgium camp before Portugal’s European Championship qualifying match in Lisbon on Saturday.

Gilberto Madail, the president of the Portuguese football federation, has demanded that Uefa, European football’s governing body, investigate comments made by Stijn Stijnen, the Belgium goalkeeper, which came only 24 hours after George Boateng, the Middles-brough captain, gave warning that “someone will hurt Ronaldo properly and he will be out for a long time” if he continues to “take the mickey” out of opponents.

Ferguson, the United manager, has complained for much of the season that Ronaldo is being subjected to unfair treatment by opposition players and, having issued a passionate defence of the winger’s role in Monday’s FA Cup sixth-round replay victory over Middles-brough, will be appalled by the comments from Stijnen.

“After two minutes we will normally have massacred him so much that he will have to leave the pitch on a stretcher,” Stijnen, the FC Bruges goalkeeper, said when asked how Belgium intend to deal with the threat of Ronaldo. “What else do we need to do? Portugal have greater quality and that’s why we have to do things our way. If we try to play like them we will certainly lose.”

Stijnen claimed later that his interview with the Gazet van Antwerpen newspaper had been misinterpreted, but his attempts to play down the controversy were clumsy at best. “I don’t think my words are shocking,” he said. “We’re the visiting team and have to do things our way. I didn’t mean to say that we have to specifically get Cristiano Ronaldo off the pitch, but we have to play hard against the Portuguese players. I’m not saying Belgium have to break anyone’s leg, but we have to be aggressive. We have to play with character and not spare our opponents’ tibias.”

Uefa has promised to investigate Stijnen’s comments if they receive a complaint from the Portuguese Football Federation, but there will be more interest at Old Trafford in the outcome of today’s meeting of Uefa’s control and disciplinary body, which is investigating the crowd disturbances at the Barclays Premiership leaders’ Champions League match away to Lille at the Félix-Bol-laert Stadium, Lens, last month.

United were appalled by the treatment of their supporters in Lens, with the French police firing teargas into the visiting fans’ section of the ground, but, while Lille face the threat of heavy sanctions, United could also be fined for “failing to control their supporters”, after the French club complained that overcrowding in the stadium was caused by counterfeit tickets produced in England.

Uefa confirmed last night that a weighty dossier had been sent from Manchester, with United forwarding statements and e-mails from fans complaining about their treatment.

Lille seem certain to face censure — with one possibility that they will be banned from staging European matches in Lens, having been forced to do so because their stadium does not meet Uefa’s requirements — but they, too, have submitted statements, blaming United’s fans for some of the issues that arose on the night.

“According to our regulations, Lille theoretically could be suspended from playing matches at this stadium,” a Uefa official said last night. “But it is wrong to speculate as there is a lot to discuss.”

75 - Fouls committed against Cristiano Ronaldo in the Barclays Premiership this season .

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