Ruud denies Santini claim
Ruud van Nistelrooy has denied the claims of Spurs boss Jacques Santini.
Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy has laughed off the claims of Tottenham boss Jacques Santini regarding Saturday's referee Paul Walton.The former France chief was left fuming after the award of a penalty to United that he believed harsh and the fact he claims to have seen Walton "smiling and laughing" in the United dressing at half-time.
Prolific hitman van Nistelrooy duly dispatched the penalty that claimed all three points in a 1-0 win and has now rubbished Santini's claim.
"I never ever saw him. He did not visit our dressing room at any point,'' the striker told the Daily Star.
Santini also continued to lament the FA's decision to replace original referee Steve Bennett with the inexperienced Walton, with the latter's lack of big match experience cited.
Despite the furore over the weekend fixture, Manchester United have moved to play down any incident involving match officials.
"The fans tried to influence the referee but he did his job well for a young man and there were no contentious issues, just some hoo-ha," read a statement from the club.
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