Alex Ferguson last night reacted furiously to suggestions from the referee Graham Poll that Gary Neville was a cheat.

Poll, speaking after a routine fortnightly referee's meeting at Staverton Park in Northampton, claimed he should have booked the England defender for diving during Manchester United's 1-1 draw with Arsenal at Highbury last month.

"If I had more courage to do the right thing, I would have booked him," said Poll. "The next week, Gary Neville did exactly the same thing. It's very clear players are excelling at simulation."

"If they are criticising players they should be looking to criticise themselves," said Ferguson. "I don't think he was without fault in the Arsenal game. He's still to award us a penalty kick in his refereeing career, and I am talking about blatant penalties.

"I don't understand his motives in saying that. Why pick on Gary Neville? If a manager was to come out and comment like that on a specific referee, he'd be up before the Football Association. But they are a protected species."

At the meeting in Northampton, Keith Hackett, the head of the Premier League and the Football League's match officials, reiterated his desire to stamp out diving from the modern game. That sentiment is shared by Ferguson.

"There's no doubt that diving is on the increase," said Ferguson. "It is something that the foreign players have brought into the English game."

Ferguson was also quick to deny that Ruud van Nistelrooy's agent, Roger Linse, had met officials from Barcelona to discuss a potential move to the Camp Nou this week.

"Roger was here at Carrington and he hasn't spoken to Barca," added the United manager. "You can't trust these people. You are asking me to trust a Spaniard. Just look at Real Madrid, who were apparently not interested in Ronaldo and not interested in Beckham."

Ferguson also launched another scathing attack on the English FA as he prepares to lose Paul Scholes for three crucial Premiership matches.

Scholes will face an FA disciplinary hearing on Monday to answer the violent-conduct charge brought against him for his attack on Doriva during the match with Middlesbrough at Old Trafford on February 11th. If the case goes against him, the midfielder will miss league encounters with Charlton, Liverpool and Blackburn, all vital to United's chances of finishing runners-up to Arsenal this term.

Although Ferguson previously dismissed the incident as trivial, his long-held mistrust of the FA leads him to believe Scholes will get banned. And there was barely concealed contempt in his voice as he contemplated Scholes's immediate future.

"You know the FA and Manchester United," he said. "There is a scenario for every club in the country and another one for us.

"We expect Paul to have a difficult hearing. Put it this way, I don't think he will get the same hearing as other players get." Scholes will be available for today's trip to Portsmouth.

Meanwhile, Claudio Ranieri confirmed yesterday he would like to coach another English club if he leaves Chelsea this summer. Despite his experiences at Stamford Bridge over recent months, the Italian said he still regards the Premiership as an enjoyable and stress-free place to work.

Ranieri has previously taken charge of teams in Italy and Spain and believes England has the best environment for a coach. Though this season he has seen Chelsea search for a new manager and announce it would be a failure for him to win nothing, that has not undermined his attachment to English football.

Asked whether he wants to stay in the country if he leaves Chelsea, Ranieri said simply: "Yes."

He feels there is better perspective and less pressure than in Italy, and drew a parallel with Spain.

"Both (those) countries like football and enjoy football," he said. "In Italy it's work." Warming to his theme, he added: "In Spain and in England there isn't stress. It's a sport. Everybody wants to win but here when you draw or lose giving everything, the fans say: 'Don't worry, next week it will be better.' If you draw or lose in Italy the stones are waiting for you.

"When I was young I loved football. I went everywhere to try to play football and I enjoyed it a lot. In Italy when you start to play in a professional way slowly you lose the boy. Peter Pan dies and you must work: stress, stress. Then I went to Spain and said: 'Oh, my god.' The boy came back.

"In England my first meeting was with Gianfranco (Zola) and he said: 'Spain will be fantastic, here it will be better,' and it's true. You come here and you enjoy it."