Manchester United fear Cristiano Ronaldo could be driven out of England by weak refereeing in the Barclays Premier League.
Manager Sir Alex Ferguson and members of the Old Trafford hierarchy had been increasingly confident of keeping the world's best player beyond the end of this season.
But what Ferguson describes as a lack of protection for his player is becoming a major concern for the English and European champions, particularly after Ronaldo clashed with referee Phil Dowd at Craven Cottage in Fulham's surprise 2-0 victory on Saturday as reported by Dailymail.co.uk
The relationship between Ronaldo and leading referees appears to have disintegrated and, while United accept that the Portugal winger is partly to blame, they argue his apparent disrespect for match officials is his response to their failure to protect him.
