Champions League Games

[Kenneth]

What exactly is the rule?

[dom9]

Anyhow, that'll be all from me in this thread.

Don't rule out an upset at White Hart Lane tonight

[Rudo]

Meant topic fella. The Barca, Arse match like.

[dom9]

Meant topic fella. The Barca, Arse match like.

Shame.

[Neil Young]

As I said in my post above I don't agree with the rule but if that is the rule there is little the referee can do, as he has to enforce the rules. It is my opinion that the rules should be changed as I mentioned above. I know why the rule is there, but there is a difference between incidents were there is a question as to whether the play is stopped or the offence occurs almost immediately after the whistle (as in last night) and in cases where the offence is committed when play has clearly stopped to waste time etc. I believe that the rules should be changed so as to distinguish between the two.

In this case the decision was very tight, I think Sky claimed there was 1 second going between the whiste and RvP kicking the ball, so that clearly falls into the first catagory where the referee may believe the player heard the whistle, but the offence had no real effect on the game, that shouldn't be a yellow card.

I don't agree. The referee first has to judge incidents according to the rules and only then impose whatever punishment is sanctioned by those rules. And then, for some offences, a certain punishment is mandatory while for other offences the punishment is more a matter of judgement.

So, just because kicking the ball away deliberately automatically incurs a yellow card, the referee first has to judge that's what the player did.

All the time we see decisions that on another day or with another referee might have been different. Does that mean they're wrong? Sometimes yes. And sometimes no.

It's about how the referee chooses to see an incident. For instance Rafael's booking on Sunday. Dowd could have chosen to see it as serious foul play or violent conduct, in which case, a red is mandatory. Or he could, as he did, see it as a reckless challenge, which carries a yellow. Either punishment would have been right, depending on how the ref chose to see the incident.

And that's why the quest for consistency across different matches and across different referees is doomed.

So last night the ref could have chosen to see it as not a foul. Given the marginal nature of it, that would have been a sensible decision.

I think it would also have been more sensible for him to recognise that choosing not to ignore the 'offence' would result in a red card. I think he should have taken that into account too.

In short, he had a get out and he failed to take advantage of it. It was a mistake.

But Arsenal would have lost anyway so who cares?

[Shaggy]

But Arsenal would have lost anyway so who cares?

That's the top and bottom of it!

[Tee]

Makes me laugh how Arsenal think they could have gone through 11 v 11. They were being hammered and should have lost both games by an even greater margin.

Zero shots and zero shots on target, LMFAO at the gooners. They clearly do not have the ability or tactical nous to win this competion.

Real shame because I would love to see Wenger win this trophy, but as has been said before, he has to earn it and clearly he is falling short every time.

[Kenneth]

Makes me laugh how Arsenal think they could have gone through 11 v 11. They were being hammered and should have lost both games by an even greater margin.

Zero shots and zero shots on target, LMFAO at the gooners. They clearly do not have the ability or tactical nous to win this competion.

Real shame because I would love to see Wenger win this trophy, but as has been said before, he has to earn it and clearly he is falling short every time.

Er, they won the first game. And in theory, you don't need shots if you only need not lose.

[dom9]

And they still got a goal.

[Rudo]

What exactly is the rule?

[Kenneth]

The specific wording of the kicking the ball away rule.

[Chrono]

This is one of the many reasons I don't like Barca. Great to watch but this kind of arrogant back-handed compliment is completely out of order:

“Wilshere is a top player. He has been a big surprise. I did not know him at the beginning of the season," he said. "He is an excellent player. We have many players like him in our second team.”

Had one of our players got that red that would have been a completely different opinion on it and he should never have been sent off. If something had to be done about it he should have got a final warning.

[Fernandinho]

I am not a fan of Barca either. They play incredible football and Messi is bewildering but they just seem so cuntish with some of the arrogance they come out with. Also, I like to see an underdog win and if Barca walk the CL it won't be exciting. Being able to expect the unexpected is what keeps us on the edge of our seats when we watch football.

[Mattshark]

I am not a fan of Barca either. They play incredible football and Messi is bewildering but they just seem so cuntish with some of the arrogance they come out with. Also, I like to see an underdog win and if Barca walk the CL it won't be exciting. Being able to expect the unexpected is what keeps us on the edge of our seats when we watch football.

[Shaggy]

Had one of our players got that red that would have been a completely different opinion on it and he should never have been sent off. If something had to be done about it he should have got a final warning.

No-one has stated an opinion to the contrary, have they? It was a ridiculous red card, everyone agrees with that. Only point being that they never created a chance with 11 on the pitch, got a complete tonking and would have lost whether Robin 'four touches' van Persie had stayed on or not.

And about Wilshere. Meh. He's right. They've got loads of small, technically gifted 19 year olds in their 2nd team - who incidentally are flying in the 2nd division at the moment. Wilshere is excellent and could slot seamlessly into that Barca team in the event of injuries/suspensions in their first XI. After all that's the only way he'd get in the side.