Newcastle midfielder Laurent Robert has blasted Arsenal striker Dennis Bergkamp for the Dutchman's part in his sending-off against the Gunners last weekend. The French winger was dismissed after being shown a second yellow card just five minutes after scoring an equaliser in the 1-1 draw at St. James' Park when he blocked Bergkamp's attempt to take a free-kick quickly. Newcastle boss Sir Bobby Robson was enraged after Sunday's clash, claiming Bergkamp had simply kicked the ball against Robert - and the 27-year-old Frenchman felt that referee Neale Barry had fallen for Bergkamp's 'cunning'. 'It was very cunning and unfortunately for me the referee fell into the trap,' said Robert. 'I can say that I was completely fed up with the sending-off. I had just equalised, was playing very well and so the sending-off was a terrible blow.' Robert dribbled past two challenges on the edge of the penalty area to level Thierry Henry's opener, but his emotions seemed to get the better of him shortly after. After being booked for an untidy lunge on Arsenal full-back Lauren, the incident involving Bergkamp came just two minutes later. Robert maintains, however, that he should not have been sent off, although he did not hold Barry responsible. 'Like everyone, I couldn't believe it. Even Arsenal's French players told me that it was not deserved,' he added on his personal website. 'I thought that the referee was very severe. Moreover, all the team were behind me and supporting me. 'When you play such an important match and you leave the ground with the support of your team-mates, that feels good, even if the referee made an error. But I cannot be upset with him because everyone can be mistaken. 'As happens all the time, one places a player in front of the ball to allow the team to regain their shape. I thus got in front of Bergkamp, who had the ball in his hands, and as soon as I was 30 centimetres away from him, he put it on the ground to take it immediately. Obviously, the ball touched me and the referee then dismissed me.'
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/headlinenews?id=257736&cc=5901 Just so you know cutting and pasting entire articles doesn't go over well with copyright lawyers. I see that you're new around here so you may not have known, but in the future you should provide a link to the story (as I've done) and then quote sections that you find important.
I love how everyone on Newcastle is blaming DB10 for a stupid mistake on Robert's part. Maybe if he didn't stick his foot out to block the ball, he wouldn't have been carded!
Slight correction, jwaldman11: If he didn't stick his foot out twice, he wouldn't have been carded. Bergkamp can be a cunning player, but Robert just had a bout of cranial-rectal inversion.
6 of one, a half dozen of the other. I think anyone who supports Arsenal will see DB's action as a smart play, taking advantage of the rules as they are stated.... and anyone who is a jackass andhappens to support Newcastle Scum, (Sorry thats automatic reflex), will see Robert's sending off as harsh. Were the roles reversed, you Gunner fans would be crying about it's unfairness as well, but you'd be wrong in my opinion, just as is Robert. Of course the fact that he's a Toon piece of Crap means he's automatically wrong.
Bull. I'd say that whoever stuck his foot out deserved to be carded and sent off, if it was his second yellow. And I think most people here would say the same thing. (By the way, my Arsenal nominee for the role of Dummy to Collect a Stupid Second Yellow would be Ray Parlour, but maybe that's just me.)
Laurent Robert shut your word hole. And yes, if the situation had been reversed, rest assured that the stupid Arsenal player would have received a Brass Monkey from Arsenal America. Unlike ManU and their fans, we don't think everything we do is holy scripture.
A little something for your sig line... Rick, I love you. You are one of the most intelligent Arsenal fans I know. Your posts make the reading about the idiocy of a Newcastle player all worthwhile. Vive le AFC! OPArsenal