Events on the pitch in the Premier¹ League this weekend were overshadowed 失色 by an extraordinary outburst 勃然大怒 from Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez at a press conference 记者发布会 on Friday.

Benitez launched a furious 愤怒的 attack on Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, claiming Ferguson is the only manager not to be punished by the FA 英格兰足协 for criticising referees³.

Ferguson was accused 被告 of "killing⁴ the referees", meaning he verbally attacks them when they make decisions he isn’t happy with.

Benitez’s comments come at a time when the FA has been working hard to implement⁵ 实施，执行 its Respect campaign, a drive to stop players and managers disputing referees’ decisions during games.

Benitez said that Ferguson had received no punishment despite being charged 被控 by the FA for comments made to two referees.

"How can you talk about the Respect campaign and yet criticise⁶ the referee² every single week?" said Benitez.

"We know that every time we go to Old Trafford老特拉福德球场," he continued, "they are always going man-to-man with the referees."

Benitez went on to claim the pressure Manchester United put on referees works to their advantage in matches.

"They put referees under pressure, we know this. We have seen players sent off 被罚下 at Old Trafford and we do not see our opponents sent off," said Benitez.

Sir Alex Ferguson was quick to dismiss Benitez’s accusations⁷ as "ridiculous", and branded 谴责 the Liverpool manager "disturbed" 心理失常的.

"There was a lot of venom⁸ in what he has said," Ferguson told reporters, meaning that Benitez’s comments were poisonous 恶意的 and meant as a personal attack.

But at the end of the day football is about results not words, and Benitez may be left ruing⁹ 懊悔 his angry tirade¹⁰ 长篇的批评性或谴责性讲话 after Liverpool were held lamely¹¹ to a 0-0 draw against Stoke on Saturday.

Manchester United, on the other hand, won a famous victory, crushing 击败 title rivals Chelsea 3-0 at Old Trafford on Sunday.

United’s victory helped them close the gap on leaders Liverpool and are now only five points behind Liverpool with two games in hand 手里还有（两场球）.