Mourinho's double standard

[FatAndUgly]

Once again, the special one has proven himself to deserve to ride on the short bus.

Today he lambasted the referee (and Barcelona's Messi) for del Horno's red card, saying that it was no longer a game after the sending off, and that Messi theatrically overacted on the foul.

Hmmmm...if it really bothers him that much, why didn't be bench Arjen Robben for his theatrics that made our beloved Reina miss three matches?

I guess for Mourinho, diving and other theatrical displays of "gamesmanship" are only wrong when the other team does it...

[655321]

Well, this shouldn't attract any trolls or flaming... :cool:

I won't comment until I've seen the foul.

[FatAndUgly]

Personally I wouldn't have given a red card for it. I would have given del Horno a yellow for the tackle, and given a yellow to Messi for over-embellishing. But that's not the point I was trying to make. Until I see a coach bench/punish his own players for embellishing, I don't want to hear his post-game comments be so critical of it happening against his team.

In college I had a coach who would make us leave the field if we appeared to be injured. If it was a real injury and we recovered, we'd go back in. If it wasn't real, we wouldn't. Plain and simple. My coach's question was always the same: "How's your shin"? If we said, "no coach, it's my hip" (or whatever was hurting), he'd say: "Exactly. You were holding your shin on the field. Now get on the bench."

I sincerely hope the referees at the World Cup are instructed to caution players for rolling on the ground like they'd been shot in the leg, when all that happened to them was a legitimate shoulder challenge.

[usscouse]

I'd have given a red. Messi skinned Robben and was coming away fron the cornerflag towards the goal and kicked the ball too far ahead. DeHorno ran at Messi stepping two yards past the ball to hit him. He had no other intention than to take Messi out.

Yeh, Messi went down, I think you would have as well. But DeHorno knowing he was in deep kaka went down in agony rolling on the ground clutching his throat like Messi had Karate chopped him.

It was an unessessary hit on Messi and it was a good call.

Yes Mourinho talks shit and yes it killed the lackluster game off.

[BenfromUSA]

del horno put on a bigger show than messi. :p

[RCCook]

I just saw the incident, and that was a terrible call by the ref. A yellow, yes, but not a red. I hate ever defending a Chelsea player, but Del Horno didn't deserve his sending-off.

[LiverpoolFanatic]

I think the ref consulted his linesman first. It must have been the way he went in--it was clumsy at the least. I think a yellow would have done the job though.

[lackadaisical]

Justice.




Justice.





Justice.

[Kukilon]

The red card:
My first reaction to the red card was "WHAT just happened?!". I also see that Messi play acts and that in itself should have been awarded a yellow card but refs usually lets that go if it's in a combination with a real foul I think that is wrong though. Del Horno also play acted quite a bit in this situation. When I saw the replay I changed my mind and thought that it's quite harsh to hand out a red but it's not wrong because you can clearly see that Del Horno doesn't even attempt to go after the ball instead he goes for Messi. Messi would also have had a nice attempt to head towards the goal if he would have gone past Del Horno. Giving a straight red is debateable but when you also look at what Del Horno has done earlier in the game against Messi I think the red card is even more clear. The stud incident springs to mind which singlehandedly could have earned him a straight red or at least a yellow which would have added up with the yellow card he could have gotten in this incident if he wasn't handed the red. I think everyone watching the game would agree upon that Del Horno should have at least been awarded two yellows if it's wasn't for that red card that some people find debateable. A red card that could have been handed out on two occassions according to the rule book. Sending him off was a good decission by the judge.
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The first PK incident
The most basic misstake most people make is to yell "handball!!!". There is no such thing but there is something called "handling the ball" and if you do that inside the penalty box it could result in a PK. In this case if Gerimi tries to protect his face then it's not a PK. This is totally up to the referee to decide and we may not agree. I need to look at the replays one more time to be sure but if he tries to protect his face then it's not a PK if it looks like he is not doing that then it's a PK. Anyone have footage of this? Almost impossible for a referee to make a good decission about a situation like this.
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The second PK incident
Should not even be up to discussion since Terry basicly mauled Messi from the back to get to the ball. Anyone saying that this wasn't a PK is just being fanboy.
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[kaisermohr]

The red card was justified. Del Horno made no attempt to play the ball whatsoever. It was his second rash challenge. Earlier he went studs up on I can't remember who and he wasn't given a yellow. I think that incident stayed in the refs mind when he pulled out the red.

[Suss]

I don't understand how people are saying Messi was play acting. It was a nasty collision. I cringed when I first saw it. I'm sure he was really hurt. Del Horno was down too. Messi did nothing wrong at all. The red card was a little harsh, but Del Horno was nowhere near the ball. Messi did a great job chasing a lost cause and he won the ball. Del Horno got frustated and took out Messi. Thats probably how the ref saw it at least.

By the way, at 18 years old, Messi was the best player on the pitch. What a talent.

[gazza]

I thought the red card was harsh but you could see why it might be given. Del Horna had been caught fouling already a couple times. One where he came in with a pretty high boot on Messi and tore his shorts with his spikes. He then came in very very late with no attempt on the ball and completely took out the man that was moving toward the box. Also notice how as soon as gets show the red he felt good enough to jump up and complain.

[Twenty26Six]

I don't understand how people are saying Messi was play acting. It was a nasty collision. I cringed when I first saw it. I'm sure he was really hurt. Del Horno was down too. Messi did nothing wrong at all. The red card was a little harsh, but Del Horno was nowhere near the ball. Messi did a great job chasing a lost cause and he won the ball. Del Horno got frustated and took out Messi. Thats probably how the ref saw it at least.

By the way, at 18 years old, Messi was the best player on the pitch. What a talent.

Messi was fantastic and definitely benefited from the space created by Eto'o and Ronaldinho. I was up off the chair and shouting on numerous occasions. Chelsea has to chase the tie now, should make for an exciting second leg.

[Suss]

Messi was fantastic and definitely benefited from the space created by Eto'o and Ronaldinho. I was up off the chair and shouting on numerous occasions. Chelsea has to chase the tie now, should make for an exciting second leg.

Well they need to score 2 goals at the Nou Camp. Unfortantley for Chelsea that will require getting the ball first.

Messi is awesome. He's probably my favorite non LFC player.

[Suss]

Chelsea are blamming the refs for this one. Sure, the red card was harsh, but Barca was denied two clear penalties. The first one was the hand ball against Geremi, and the 2nd was when Terry plowed over Messi in the box. How come everytime Chelsea loses all that their manager and their fans talk about it is some kind of controversy? For once, could they just admit that they got beat by a better team?

[SiriuslyCold]

Karma bites.

[RCCook]

I thought the red card was harsh but you could see why it might be given. Del Horna had been caught fouling already a couple times. One where he came in with a pretty high boot on Messi and tore his shorts with his spikes. He then came in very very late with no attempt on the ball and completely took out the man that was moving toward the box. Also notice how as soon as gets show the red he felt good enough to jump up and complain.

When I watched the game tonight (already knowing about the card) I thought at first that the studs-up challenge was what got Del Horno carded. When no card was issued, I was surprised. So perhaps the ref issued it for a combination of incidents. Honestly, I thought the earlier challenge warranted a straight red more so than the one he was actually sent off for.

Even so, I'm glad the match ended the way it did. Go Barca!

[usscouse]

I'd love to know what Mourinho said to Rikard when he went over to him. Rikard was trying to back away, like he was going to be kissed.

[Red Bird]

Listening to Glenn Hoddle and the other Sky pundits, I could only shake my head at the sheer effrontery of them all. del Horno made no attempt to play the ball. And, he not only shoulder-charged Messi like a blind-side flanker in rugby, he went in with a leading foot, too. Messi play-acted? I guess if that is the way your players behave, you cannot but come to that conclusion.

The only other disgraceful thing about that episode, apart from del Horno's play-acting, was the way the Barcelona players descended on the referee like a troop of Chacmas. Shameful behaviour and at least one of them ought to have collected a yellow.

[nicephoras]

For the record, of course Mourinho is hypocritical. Just like every single manager. Because he has to say positive things about his own side that he will say are negative against the other. The same way Benitez says "diving is bad" a week after Krompkamp takes a comical dive. So of course there's a double standard.