If its any consolation, shwan, St Michael of Laudrup agrees with you. http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/C...Swansea-City/story-16871518-detail/story.html
That makes you an expert fingerer. Is that even a word, not sure maybe yes maybe no who knows��
Well, you're asking for something no one truly has - total impartiality. My initial reaction was a yellow card because if you look at it, the only reason Arbeloa has been caught is because he's charged in there - but while there may have been ulterior motives to the sending off, by the rules it was the right decision. It ruined the game for United (although admittedly the fact Higuian's goal was dissallowed earlier was reasonably fortunate), and you were the better team and should really be in the draw, but that's football I guess. The CL shouldn't be too much of an issue when you wrap up the Premier League in a couple of months.
Campbell, as ever you are the voice of reason. Haven't been and can't be arsed reading most comments on a **** loads of threads but it's fair to say that we, at the time, held the upper hand and were it not for a very marginal referee decision we might, might, have gone on to win the tie. We didn't though. Such is life, eh? **** it, good luck to them. I wish them well as it was great match between a couple of half decent football teams. Bugger.
And the keeper's punch to Vidic's head wasn't dangerous I suppose and worthy of a red and penalty. Numpty.
This has happened too many times. Stop making excuses. The English team got 'done' by the ref. AGAIN. While most of us agree with you the fact is the players studs was shown and it does not matter that he never saw the on coming player one iota an offence took place and the ref had no option than to give a red. He could however used his common sense and rule in the favour of united and awarded a yellow. Refs just cant win whatever he does and as he used the letter of the law then he was right....It was sheer bad luck as united were doing well up till then and may have won the game but nobody can say that for certain as real madrid were dangerous....I can understand united fans complaining but what if it was rolls reversed, would you be complaining then...It unfortunate thats all but the ref was right by the rule book...
Well said dude i am a staunch Utd fan but agree with what you say. The ref could have given a yellow and covered his arse and the actual tackle may never have been mentioned again. He went by the book and gave the ultimate penalty. I think the majority of Utd fans accept the decision when put forward in a competent way as you have, the rules are the rules. Yes, Utd fans were pissed off by the decision but so would fans of any team that thought a decision was harsh.
Sorry but I just don't agree, and I say this as a fan of english and european football. You don't referee by the letter of the law, you referee by the letter and spirit of the law. The referee had every option not to give a red. I am aware that the rulebook allows the referee to send Nani off for that tackle. In the same way that the rule book allows you to play on rather than give the ball back when your opponents play in out due to injury. The point is football is not played by, nor officiated by robots, it is played by and officiated by humans. Humans are capable of allowing emotion and ration to have some say in their decision making. Incidents like the incident last night are not something that can be box ticked. 'Body in this position' = check. 'Opponent present' - check. = red card. The occasion, the players' intentions and actions before and during the incident and the aftermath should all be factored into your decision making. Let me clarify - when I say 'the occasion' what I specifically mean is that the benefit of any doubt should go to keeping 22 players on the pitch. It is what everybody, players, manager and fans wanted. That is not to say that 'dangerous play' shouldnt be punishable by a red card. What it categorically does mean, however, is that you should be sure of a player's intentions before deeming it red card worthy. Everybody, thats everybody, even Roy Keane, agrees that Nani did not intend to hurt Arbeloa. Everybody, even the most staunch, biased and blinkered Man Utd haters, can acknowledge that his eyes are on the ball and he is not even aware of Arbeloa's presence until it was too late. The ref's starting point should be awarding yellow unless he is convinced that the 'kick' was deliberate and malicious. He did the opposite. I have no idea, literally no idea, how an experienced ref could deem that red card worthy. However the most conclusive point for me is this: Real Madrid have a reputation for hounding ref's waving cards and demanding cards. Hardly any Madrid players even appealed for a red. A few half hearted complaints aside, not a single real madrid player aggresively demanded a card. Even they didnt expect it. What is, in my opinion, indisputable, is that this was a shocking, shocking decision made by a ref determined to be the centre of attention. I was angry for you last night. However, having watched the higlights, your goal came from an offside, and he missed a handball that should have been a penalty, so it did swing both ways. But to me there is a difference between not seeing things, and seeing them and calling it totally, totally wrong. Still, que sera sera and all that.
Argy and most east europe refs enjoy sending english players off, but when you jump with your leg high it is too risky.
In effect the vidic head punch was the exact same scenario... Player going for the ball, misses completely and catches the player quite badly. One is a red, the other is nothing, not even a foul! Both were complete accidents and neither I feel worthy of a red. However, if you (the ref) feels one is worthy of a red, then surely the other incident should be seen on equal terms and the same punishment should be issued. But I think the game highlighted two main issues: One: GK's get way too much protection and that is a big issue that should be looked at. Two: If now a lot of people agree that a complete accident with no malicious intent warrants a red card, it shows how much football has changed. It's meant to be a contact game, and the speed at which the game is played at now is so fast, accidents happen. Would that have ever been a red 30 years ago??? If this level of change continues we may well be playing tag football in another 30 years
If Saffa had reorganised his team once JM put Modric on you would not still be talking about the red. Saffa took 14 mins to respond to Jose's tactical change. Bang two goals out. Jose owns him every time
Completely ignored the two issues I highlighted, but well done on a completely pointless post And up until the red, Fergie was owning his arse in terms of tactics, even Jose admitted it
You have fallen for jose's Pr campaign too. Saffa's delay in reorganising his team cost you the match. You just can't get to grips with Top Spanish or Italian teams in Europe. If Saffa knew what to do, you would have won five times in stead of a poor return of two from 26 years stability
