Sir Alex Ferguson has accused Rafael Benitez, the Liverpool manager, of "arrogance" and showing "contempt" in his dealings with fellow Premier League managers in the build up to Manchester United's FA Cup semi-final against Everton on Sunday.

The pair, whose teams are battling it out for the Premier League title, have exchanged words on several occasions this season and Ferguson has hit back with a withering assessment of the Spaniard's conduct.

Ferguson criticised Benitez for his description of Everton as a "small club" before attacking the attitude he showed in dismissing Blackburn Rovers last weekend once Liverpool had scored their second goal at Anfield on Saturday.

"Everton are a big club, not a small one which Benitez arrogantly said," Ferguson said. "But arrogance is one thing. You cannot forgive contempt, which is what he showed Sam Allardyce [the Blackburn manager] last weekend.

"When Liverpool scored their second goal he signalled as if the game was finished. I do not think Sam deserved that. Sam has worked so hard for the LMA [League Managers' Association] and he's had a weakened team. I just thought it showed contempt. In my experience no Liverpool manager has ever done that. It was beyond the pale."

Allardyce claimed that the gestures from Benitez were aimed at the Blackburn manager and his staff. He has reviewed footage of the incident several times and his understanding is that Benitez crossed his arms over dismissively as if to suggest 'that's it, game over, job done'.

The Blackburn manager believes a further lack of respect was shown when Benitez failed to show up in his own office for a post-match drink, leaving Allardyce seeking an explanation. "I think if everybody has a look back at his gestures you will see them as pretty dismissive to me and the Blackburn Rovers team as a whole," he said. "I was hugely disappointed by those gestures. I think they were disrespectful and quite humiliating.

"Having looked at them again this week, I think I'm right and everybody will see why I'm complaining.

"The feeling was that he had written us off. It was open arms and then a crossover of the arms as if to suggest that was it. I admit it was a hard game, a difficult game for us, and we were well beaten by an outstanding Liverpool side.

"But in terms of respect, you don't expect those sort of things to happen in a game of football. I was very, very upset by it. The game is hard enough as it is without a fellow manager doing what seemed to be an undermining gesture.

"I then waited to have a word with him after the game in his room, but as usual and unfortunately, he didn't turn up.

"Not explaining himself by not turning up in his office really shows what he is like. The only people I saw were Sammy Lee and a few of the staff. That was just as disappointing as the gesture, and it typifies the man."

There has never been any love lost between the two men in the past, with Allardyce's outburst merely serving to add fuel to the fire. Allardyce has made no attempt to contact Benitez this week to try and clarify the matter, insisting: "Why should I?

"If he can't come into his own room and have a drink with his fellow manager, why would I want to pick up the phone and speak to him? It's in the past now and I'll move on, but I just want to make everybody aware of what I consider to be a lack of respect for me, the Blackburn Rovers players and the football club as a whole."