19-05-2006, 01:59 AM
If the referee had stuck rigidly to the Rule Book he could have let the goal stand that Barca scored and still sent Lehman off. There is nothing in the rules that states because a goal has been scored that a player should not then be sent off.
I found many of his interpretations of the laws very strange. FIFA have made it very clear to referees that players tackling from the back must be cautioned, yet a number of times the Barca defenders went 'right through' Henry and nothing was done about it. If he had seen the situation corectly when the young Arsenal fullback 'dived' to get the free kick from which they scored, he would have to have booked him, which would have been his second yellow card therefore they would have been down to nine men.
Overall I though his performance (the referee) was very poor but he was not biased. However why was he appointed in the first place? I know a number of referees associations in Europe are asking this question and basically it all stems from a remark passed by the Batca coach prior to the Chelsea game. When Chelsea questioned his appointment to their match against Barca, the Barca coach said at the time that he was very happy about the appointment as the referee was "a very good friend of mine" - now I am not saying the referee cheated in either match, but his performances in both makes one wonder!
I found many of his interpretations of the laws very strange. FIFA have made it very clear to referees that players tackling from the back must be cautioned, yet a number of times the Barca defenders went 'right through' Henry and nothing was done about it. If he had seen the situation corectly when the young Arsenal fullback 'dived' to get the free kick from which they scored, he would have to have booked him, which would have been his second yellow card therefore they would have been down to nine men.
Overall I though his performance (the referee) was very poor but he was not biased. However why was he appointed in the first place? I know a number of referees associations in Europe are asking this question and basically it all stems from a remark passed by the Batca coach prior to the Chelsea game. When Chelsea questioned his appointment to their match against Barca, the Barca coach said at the time that he was very happy about the appointment as the referee was "a very good friend of mine" - now I am not saying the referee cheated in either match, but his performances in both makes one wonder!
Always enjoy life - and remember there is always someone worse off than yourself - treat others as you yourself would want to be treated.