Wednesday, May 06, 2009

There in spirit

It wouldn't be the Champions League if there wasn't a bit of Italian influence. This time, in the form of referee Roberto Rosetti. Guilty, apparently, of a "totally ridiculous" red card for Darren Fletcher - if you believe the pundits.

But, wait a minute, just because you get the ball doesn't necessarily mean it is not a penalty. My take is that he had to go through the man to get to the ball. It was only really in the context of the match that the decision was harsh - at 3-0 to Man Utd there was nothing left to play for. Was it a foul? Yes. Was it in the penalty box? Yes. Was it a clear goal-scoring opportunity? Yes.

I feel sorry for any player who has to miss a major final but all this ballyhoo leaves me cold. Why should UEFA reverse the decision? It was perfectly acceptable in the first place.

Oh, and should Chelsea get through tonight, prepare for all the stories about why the final should not be played in Rome.

2 comments:

patcook said...

100% agree Rosseti made the right decision.

And he was definetly the better of the two refs as far as decisions go.

Though I would like to thank Tom Henning Øvrebø for knocking out Chelsea.

Kinda makes up for him gifting Romania a draw against Italy at the Euro's

ginkers said...

Very true. And it serves Hiddink right for all the help he got at the helm of South Korea.