Portsmouth Football Club

• Nickname:Pompey
• Founded:1898
• Manager:Guy Whittingham

• Ground:Fratton Park
• Capacity:19179

Hughes denies wind-up talk

17 Aug 2007 - 08:38:59

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Portsmouth midfielder Richard Hughes has dismissed claims that he and his team-mates had wound Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo up during the 1-1 draw at Fratton Park.

Red Devils boss Alex Ferguson had suggested that Ronaldo had been provoked before he was dismissed for a head-butt on Hughes late on in the game, but the Pompey man says that that was not the case.

He said: "I certainly didn't try to set a trap to get him sent off as Ferguson has said.

"What happened was one of those things. I've never thought of Ronaldo as a hothead. None of the players think so, otherwise he'd be getting targeted every week.

"I do think in that particular incident he was getting wound up. He swung a leg at me before the butt.

"He looked a bit frustrated and I felt it was more of his doing to get head-to-head and not mine.

"A push and a shove led to another and myself and Ronaldo squared up to each other.

"The last thing I thought was that either of us were going to get sent off when we went face-to-face. You often see footballers doing that.

"Whether he meant it or not, he leaned in a little bit and made contact with me. The ref was standing right there and he saw fit to issue a red."