Re: Will the match official of the Chelsea...... It also conveniently forgets all of the Barcelona whining from the first leg as well.
Let me remind you that when Abidal was given his marching orders the game was still going on and the players still had the reason to be there.
I agree with this. I really feel bad for Chelsea, their players and fans for the way their club lost last night. That must be just terrible to take. Kudos to Chelsea for the way their club played last night and kudos to John Terry for going back and shaking hands after the match with the opponents to congratulate them... that shows the true qualities of a team + England captain. With that said... I find the reaction of many Chelsea players + fans after the game, talks of conspiracy theory, death threats to the referee, etc. to be a little disappointing, overblown + way over the top. I remember similar reactions last time Barca beat Chelsea in the champions league and there were similar reactions with regards to del Horno's red card. Yes, there was bad refereeing in BOTH legs of this tie - especially in this second leg. However, these decisions were not mutually exclusively in favor of Barcelona. Let's not forget the numerous yellow card challenges that were not handed out at the Nou Camp to Chelsea players, including a possible second yellow to Ballack, penalty not given when Eto'o was pulled down in the box, numerous marginal offside calls, etc. Let's not also forget about the 2nd leg - with the referee calling halftime right when Barca were taking a corner, the awful red card decision - honestly Anelka should have been yellow carded for that dive and potentially suspended for the final had they gone through. In my opinion the referee blew three key decisions last night which may have wound up turning the game. - Penalty on Malouda in 1st half. Clearly in the box - the stud marks would have proved it. Potentially could have been 2-0 and put the game away. - Red card on Abidal. Terrible, terrible decision. Should have been a yellow for diving. I feel for the player who will now be suspended for the final. - Pique's handball in the box. Should have been a penalty. I'm shocked that neither the referee nor the assistant caught it. In my honest opinion I think the red card on Abidal actually wound up being Chelsea's eventual nemesis. They may have taken their foot off the pedal realizing they were playing against 10 men. Also I think this decision may have influenced the officials into not giving the penalty on Pique imo. I also don't really think there were four "clear" penalty decisions. Two yes which the ref botched but four clear penalties - no. Drogba went down too easily on several occasions and had he focused more on scoring rather than winning penalties then he may have spared himself the disgraceful scenes at the end of the match. The Eto’o handball at the end of the match….? Hmm, let’s remember the referee doesn’t have the benefit of slow motion replays (thanks, Sepp ). Moments like that happen in a split second and the ball ricocheted off of Eto’o’s underarm. That would have been a huge call for the ref to have made in a champions league semifinal replay. If the referee gets the penalty and gets it right than great but if he gets it wrong…. it’s probably easier not to give the decision. All in all I think Chelsea lost due to… - ran up against talented Barca side who matched them over 2 legs. - negative tactics implemented in the first leg. Barca scored an away goal, Chelsea did not. Chelsea went looking for 0-0 in the first leg and got it but ultimately paid the price. - failure to take chances in 2nd leg. Drogba a huge culprit. - failure to clear their lines in dying minutes against 10 man injury and suspension strapped team. Essien slipped, Ballack ducked + Cech was out of position. - referee’s failure to award two penalties at Stamford Bridge In conclusion I agree that the referee botched some major decisions that ultimately played their part in the outcome of the game. However, I don’t think that’s the only reason the lost. Also, as a neutral support – I think the bad decisions went both ways. Barca did not play a great game in the second leg but they were a wounded dog. Without Henry, Marquez + Pulyol and man sent off – they deserve credit for coming back into the game and getting the result. Could you imagine Chelsea without Terry, Bosingwa + Drogba, down to 10 men and scoring a last minute equalizer? Some credit must be given. I think that over 180 minutes, there was little to choose between the teams and inevitably, it took two moments of brilliance for either side to score. Tough luck Chelsea but these things happen in football.
Don't get me wrong, the actual team is very talented. Still... That the bandwagon fans of a team that might not even be in the CL except for the huge annual buyout of outside funds that enables them to build a roster that otherwise wouldn't be at Chelsea... feel aggrieved as if other powers are cheating them? That's funny.
Why is no one talking about the handball by Ballack in Chelsea's box before the goal by Essien? Oh wait it would have been a PK for Barcelona, so let's not mention it or even show it at all.
There is a lot of stuff that people have conveniently "forgotten". This series will also be forgotten in 3 weeks as well.
I believe I heard that of the four semi finalists Chelsea had the lowest budget for players' salaries. You can't cast stones at Chelsea for doing what the big clubs in Europe do and that's buy talent. Drogba is a disgrace, though. http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/02/0217_richest_football_clubs/1.htm
i dont agree i think that barca is the best team in the world playing the best soccer in the world and there is no reason they will be forgoten still did chelsea deserve to win? yes
To the topic 'did barca really win' , yes Barcelona won and so did Football. Anybody anywhere in the world would of been excstatic after the game concluded the way it did. From a Neutrals point of view this was utter Footballing bliss, Superb Goals, Controversial Decisions by the referee against both teams over both legs and Drama beyond human comprehension...Chelsea fans may be feeling hard done by, but thats the beauty of the game. Accept the result and see the spectacle for what it was.
Re: Will the match official of the Chelsea...... As I posted just a few posts earlier than your post: http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/afde...t_en_47379.pdf
the game could be summarized best in a few words....... THE REVENGE OF AVRAHAM GRANT FUC K CHELSEA still the game was unfair though lol
Re: Will the match official of the Chelsea...... Almost every interview I've seen on Sky Sports, the interviewees (Phil Neville, Tony Pulis, Steve Coppel, others) have said the behavior is understandable, and that it's far too easy for us, the viewer, to look back at the TV screen, and say the behavior was awful. But we're not there in the heat of the moment, feeling that we've been absolutely robbed of something. What he did was understandable. Acceptable? No. Understandable? Quite.
Barcelona are proven to be one dimensional by organised teams. They are the best team in possession but theres a lot more to football then just passing it in triangles otherwise Arsenal would be the best team in England. Manchester United are a more diverse team who can adapt and change their style. Slick passing, defending or direct attack. Barcelona admit that they refuse to adapt to a defensive or direct game when needed and that was 1 min from costing them Peppy didnt do anything to change his tactics he got lucky in the end. He only has Plan A, attack. Barcelona are pig headed about their "beautiful football" style and it will cost them against Man U as it costs Arsenal.
Barca won, didn't they? They are in the champions league finals while Chelsea are not... My analysis of the game... Is the ref fault that chelsea got ko? IMO partially... 1) Chelsea so-called gameplan in 1st leg is flawed. Yes, they managed to shut down the Barca attack but they have to sacrifice their attacking game to do so. In doing that, they lost their chance of getting a precious away goal. Oh wait, didn't Barca qualify because of an away goal? 2) What was Hiddink thinking when he decide to sub Belletti on Drogba? Why not a striker when Barca was down to 10 men and when Yaya Toure was the only central defender? That would have cause more problems to Barca. 3) Why was Chelsea still not playing the possession game when Barca was down to 10 men? Without the ball possession, there is no way 1 team create goal scoring chances. My conclusion: Chelsea/Hiddink screwed Chelsea/Hiddink...so stop shifting all the blame on the ref...
Re: Will the match official of the Chelsea...... Drogba, Ballack, Terry are all nut-cases. None of the ref's decisions warranted that behavior, and what the barcelona players did was nothing in comparison to the chelsea players. To be fair, barcelona have nut cases as well including henry and alves who would have thrown the same temper-tantrums. It's one thing to get emotional, it's another to act like an animal especially if the calls dont warrant such reactions.
Here's a list of international tournaments Tom Henning Övrebö has refereed throughout his career. Under the "Spiele" column are numbers you can click which shows the individual matches he took charge of of the corresponding tournament. Please note that he had reffed a UEFA Cup semifinal the past two seasons.
Re: Will the match official of the Chelsea...... the only one that it would be understandable to go haywire about, is pique's handball in the box. The other miscalls did not merit that reaction, especially when one takes into consideration the miscalls against barcelona.
You've got to be joking haven't you? Chelsea and their fans still whinge about the 2005 semi and moan that the ball never crossed the line. They'll be whinging about this semi final for at least the next 5 years. They are as bad as Arsenal.