UEFA get it wrong with Drogba

the writer is saying crap! in his last paragraphs.

if the ref thinks he deserve respect, he should respect others also and be objective and professional in his decisions.

Adam, you’re a mug!!

I have been watching the Blues since I was 4 (a family thing and a good thing). You state that Drogs and Bossie should serve their bans and that UEFA should not punish the ref after that shambles, tell ma Adam do you actually go to any games or are you an arm chair fanatic (and before you ridicule me I have been a season ticket holder since the early 90’s.

If your argument is to hold water (which it does not), can you tell me why half of the Barca team were not banned for calling the ref a cheat from the first leg (and before you say they did not check out the stories mug). They were deriding that guy for not sending off the Chelsea players as they were to physical for the poor dears, after all I guess Chelsea forgot to understand that your not allowed to tackle a poor little Catalan!!

The fact is Overthehill as ref has previously apologised to the Italian FA for mistakes in Euro 2008, so why have UEFA not told him to do the same?

I think before you can comment on a players reaction you have to have been there to judge how angry and upset the whole stadium was that the team who deserved (yes for the way they out thought and out fought Barca in both legs) to be in the final to make amends for a penalty slip from the previous year was robbed to allow UEFA’s pets to get there instead, felt. I understand this as I was there and even now I’m angry at the whole thing.

UEFA should hold their heads in shame reduce the player’s bans to a suspended sentence and sack that muppet of a ref!! However one feels like maybe he was just obeying orders…

P.S. Adam You’re a MUG!!!!

In the eyes of all sensible people, UEFA has lost all moral authority. There is no one within this very poor organisation with dignity, to apologize for the amateurish performance of their employee, namely, Ref Ovrebo. Any staff who so publicly let down his emplyers, will do himself a favour by not ever returning to the office! But, UEFA? Bah! It seriously calls into question the competence of those who appointed him in the first place. Or was he ‘being a good boy’? Then no wonder he’s back officiating. Someone had the courage to call a spade a spade. Drogba and Bosingwa did. Only an idiot will castigate them for that.

Anybody watch Real Madrid in the Peace Cup this weekend?

Did anyone see CR get shoved down from the back when he broke in to the box? No call tho…ref must have been “TOO FAR AWAY” to see it…it’s hilarious b/c they are able to show countless replays instantly…yet it is not used in the game.

Would CR have scored? – probably. Could he have been injured from a blind-side attack (not tackle – attack)? – probably.

Maybe the ref was biased towards CR and his diving tactics to actually see the play…another reason why FIFA should be intervening.

CFC Fan, I couldnt agree with u anymore over FIFA and UEFA- frankly, all of the other regions like CONCACAF should be included for this, too- having to take responsibility- since they aint taking any at all- for their poor officials.
This is quite ridiculous… I wonder when this saga of poor officiating will end… perhaps never….. oh GOD ALMIGHTY BRING HELP!!!!!!!

Nice comments! I’ve noticed there are several chris’ and Chris’ running about, so I am changing my name for commenting.

Not that any of you cared, but I thought I’d share. Woo! I Rhymededed.

well said Silvers…

I’m still hesitant about punishing Ovrebo b/c I think FIFA/UEFA should be held responsible for the officiating and ensuring fairness and integrity…the ref does what he is supposed to do and there should be measures in place to ensure that he is doing his job…

So, what is UEFA doing about ensuring fairness and integrity besides punishing the teams and players who fall victim to this mockery? Is it doing all it can?

Didi and Bosingwa were on that day disgraceful in their conduct. Likewise Mikhail Ballack but their were 3 teams on the pitch that day
A) the Barca team that never gave up fighting.
B) the Chelsea team that showed the whole World how to play Barcelona, demystifying the spanish team and showing that possession de ballon is nothing as far as tactical play is concerned. (kudos to the great tactician Guus). Even Pep Guardiola had gone to congratulate Hindink before Barca got their goal
C) the referee and his assistants that disgraced every one that has put on the Fifa badge by performing so abysmally I was in ahock fr several weeks after that match. UEFA has to come out publicly and do the right thing, and that is punish Ovrebo. This will return fan’s confidence that was badly damaged by the show of shame of that day!

I don’t see anything encouraging about the decision personally, but i’m willing to consider that there is something there that i’m just overlooking.

Why has football been so slow to implement replay technology? They’re so adamant about player professionalism, but what about the integrity of the sport?

Is one ref all you really need to officiate a match? I have never seen so few officials on such a large playing ground in any sport.

I don’t think UEFA has resolved any of the issues this match presented – except address their dwindling petty cash account.

Fifa has made the most encouraging decision for the chealse fans.thanks from hope.

Uefa pliz bring back Colina and co.

Both u and Chris are right though, it seems as though referees decides who wins when it comes to Italy and- I hate to say this, as I am a ManU fan, but I accept the facts and this is an obvious one- ManU, and the players of the losing team act outrageously and get punished, but what happens to the ref?
NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is as though UEFA is too CHICKEN to punish their own officials. particularly Ovrebo.

Patrick, I know you arent happy with ManU haven beating your tema in the semis, but as there was an English club- and might I remind everyone there was a three way tie between Italy, England, and Spain for the most trophies in UEFA, and if I was an Englishman who supported a different club but wanted my country in the lead for trophies- you should have supported ManU. I am just statin that. Normally, when a American fan’s team is beaten in a knockout formula tournament, they support the team that beat them. I wish yall would do the same.
Off topic, my bad….

@Chris
“Imagine referees deciding the world cup, the premier league, etc.” If you are a Chelsea fan, surely you have seen Howard Webb give United victories that should’ve been draws time and time again, and seen referees on the international stage allow Italy to pull their bullshit. Referees influence the outcome of the game in football more so than in any other sport in the world. A sad and disheartening but true fact.

I’m an Arsenal fan and was glad to see Barca beat Manure in the final but I definetely feel for ya as I think Chelsea should have been in that final. I don’t really like Chelsea, but c’mon, that last penalty Ovrebo waived off was just ridiculous. UEFA wanted to prevent another all-English final, plain and simple. Good luck next year, see you in the London Derby.

Oh, my bad Jake, I saw Pique get a card and I forgot it was Abidal who got sent off. The usual mistake when so many cards are shown in one game. It happens a good bit to me.
Knowing the way Chelsea was in the games agaisnt barca, I doubt that, even if they had gone through to the final, they wouldnt have to go into so much as extra time. Chelsea most likely would have had a hangover.
But whatever hangover they couldve had has gone away, and it was clearly shown when they beat Seattle Sounders- a very good team who fought hard- 2-0 today.
Coming back to the topic, jes a sidenote…
Chelsea are a very good team, but they didnt play up to what I expected against barca. They didnt attack enough- and when they didnt, I was thinkin:” is this really the team that was lead by Scolari and Mourinho?”- and when they did, they always met with frustration, both with the barca defenders and the ref- you cant jes blame the ref- and some of those frustrations wound up into bookins(ballack, and drogba after the game ended).
It was almost like watching Argentina in the 1990 World Cup final. Not good….
But Chelsea, being one of the world’s best, will recover. I dont really know if I should say they already have.
And Drogba, well he just has to serve his ban and then get back into everyone’s good graces again.

ya – that’s kind of along the lines of what I thought too…Chelsea just wasn’t giving enough on the offense to win which is why those penalty kicks would have come in handy.

As for UEFA, there is no reason to acknowledge Chelsea’s frustration if you’re not going to do anything about it in terms of improving the officiating. But since the officiating is not a problem the punishment should have been upheld and hands washed of the issue.

I think Adam said that this is how the game is, and has been, officiated so you need to adapt to it…makes perfect sense…except to UEFA (I think)…did they ever disclose why they lessened the ban but not the cash? haha….i’m so confused over this….’Bad Chelsea, good Ref…but poor Chelsea tsk tsk….ok, we’ll take all the money and you can get back to playing sooner. Thank you, come again’.

Brad,

The red was on Abidal by the way and even if Anelka didnt dive the tackle wasnt a hard one or he wasnt trying to hurt him, but its part of the game ya know

and Ballack deserved that because he chased down the ref and almost tackled him lol Im surprised ballack wasnt suspended neither for that fit that he threw.

But instead of chasing the ref he should of went and pressured the ball. I hate when players dont play to the whistle and they just stop playing cause they didnt get what they wanted.

But they didnt, they wanted the ref to hand them the game and they didnt deserve that game. They could of won 2-1, 3-1 if there strikers would put the ball in the back of the net but they didnt. To me those where handballs but they werent intentional and its not like those balls were heading to the back of the net.
Towards the end when ballack chased the ref the ball hit Henry on the back of his arm when his back was turned but Henry had his arm against his body, there is no way that is a penalty there was nothing there. To me Chelsea played like they didnt want the game. they could of put it away early but they just didnt want it and they didnt deserve to be in the finals, they would proly just choke on PK’s again

All in all..Chelsea didn’t play as they should have, and since we cannot debate the refs judgement, i’m totally against UEFA reducing the penalties on Didi and Bosi b/c it makes it seem like there is some understanding of the situation and that Chelsea had reason to get fired up.

But, is there a need for UEFA/FIFA to provide more back-up for the refs on the field? If we can resort to replays and more eyes on the field, teams will get their fair chance on the play. Also, with all of that in place, it acts as a deterrence to foul play. Or, are we all happy with the officiating that we accept as the norm? I’m guessing only a Chelsea fan would say no to that right now.

Adam – I hear you. This is the way the game has been officiated, so you have to adapt to it. But, what I’m trying to say is that poor officiating is not fair and it actually entices these types of behaviours and controversy.

I think Chelsea’s only fault in that game is that they didn’t strike enough…or should I say, didn’t get the strikes on net that they should have…they were able to get some strikes in and physically dominated but did not want to underestimate Barca’s potential on the offence, so they played defensively. I couldn’t believe how much Chelsea just wanted to defend the ball instead of playing it up the field – well, I think it was b/c Barca was rushing forwards up the field like crazy and we didn’t want to get countered. But, Barca (as expected) played with the ball for a majority of the match but couldn’t create enough space to get around in. I don’t think Barca played better than Chelsea at all…as a matter of fact, Chelsea had Barca stifled…say what you want about them filling the Chelsea half with 9 defenders, but with a team like Barca, why would you give them any room to play around in? Barca might play a better style, but Chelsea had the defense and lacked offense. Of course, Barca got one shot in and made it count – but, this is Barca’s threat – you don’t want these guys anywhere near the goal. In my mind, the score should have been 3-1 Chelsea (if penalties were awarded), but hat’s off to Barca for never giving up and coming through in the clutch.

The away goal is the away goal…I like it b/c it adds more to what’s at stake but I hear you too Brad, I wouldn’t have any problems seeing it go either.

Also, please guys…can we stop with the verbal attacks on each other? It’s a forum for discussion…not a forum for you to attack. In other words, SHOW SOME PROFESSIONALISM, as UEFA would say.

Finally there are some posts galores, the past few weeks there has been a drought.
Jake, I know Chelsea blew it, especially Drogba, and the game was a poor one( especially when compared to the way ManU and Arsenal played, that was brilliant) but the game effectively ended as a draw at the end of regulation time and by aggregate. Barca only won on that controversial and retarded Away goal rule( I would complain about it even if my team won by that rule, it just seems unfair). It really should have ended with CFC as the victor, either 2-1 or 3-1.
If I remember correctly, one of the barca players made a clear handball, and moments later Ballack was booked for trying to persuade the ref to call a penalty.
The red card on Pique, though, shouldnt have happened… Anelka made a clear dive.
In truth, Barca was the day’s better team, but I still think CFC should have won, even if they did it on penalties in regulation time or any kind of goal in extra time- which is what shouldve happened when barca equalized.

Sherry, you sound uneducated. Your arguments are purely based on opinion, but you never back them up with logic or even attempt to prove your point with facts. This makes you sound ignorant. Come back when you have a clue 😉

adam u sound like a child.. im no chelsea fan by the way…

I’m a die hard chelsea fan and i’m totally amazed/disapointed by the penalty reduction,i seriously want him to be punished severely(Drogba),we are all crying about penalties not given,what about the chances wasted,even by Drogba,what if the penalties were given and still was saved or lost?,chelsea messed up that day and should be mad at themselves and not at the referee,and should take total responsibility for their actions,Drogba was substituted for acting,he wasnt injured and could continue the match,same was with the finals last year when he was red carded for bad spotsmanship,how can you slap a player on the pitch and swear on live Tv and any one would not be against you,yes he apologized after his actions,but why apologize when you can put your emotions in check? afterall they played against ten men,i trust liverpool or manchester united.

Personally I am glad the ref did not call a penalty

Chelsea blew so many goals, Drogba had a chance to score in both games on break aways and in Barcelona he was basically 1 v 1 with the keeper and failed to put it away.

Chelsea blew the game, it would of been such a lame way to win the game on a penalty.

Not only that the Barcelona was down a man(which I believe was not a red card) and Chelsea wanted to play counter attack

so all in and all CHELSEA BLEW IT just like they did against MU

Believe me, I’ve been infuriated several times by bad calls. As we speak, I’m watching Bayern v Wolfsburg on Goltv, and the ref called a penalty on a dive from Grafite. That was a pretty bad call. Week in week out refs call it wrong. They even get it wrong against Barcelona. And they always seem to mess things up in the WC and Euros! Of course I get pissed when my team gets screwd, but I also realize when players act like animals and cross the line! Are you people telling me that everytime a refs makes a bad call, players can get violent and beligerent? There’s something called responsibility and professionalism when you reach that level of sport. I clearly agreed with you about sanctioning Ovrebo, improving officiating as a whole and implementing video replays, but until that happens, we can’t allow players to run wild, and we can’t justify their actions simply because they’re on our team!

I am like Chris, a proud American- except I aint a Chelsea fan. I became a ManU fan in 99, but the first 2 games I saw them play in ended in lossed to Chelsea(5-0) and then Arsenal(2-0). After that, I only heard of what they were doing and never saw them again until Rooney scored a hat trick in his debut for them.
I may be a ManU fan- and after so many seasons supporting them I have became die hard- but I agree with the Chelsea fans over their anger with that sorry excuse for a referee. If you watch a replay of the game, you’ll see quite a few times where the CFC players are knocked over in the penalty box. Clearly, Chelsea should have been in the cl final, but thanks to the worst refereeing I have seen in 10 years since I started watching professional football, they werent.
Adam, forgive if I sound like a whining ManU fan who whishes CFC had beaten barca and gone on to lose to MUFC, but as I like to have my say and I am not as biased over football, even when it comes to my team, I think you shouldnt have any thing against my post, as you shouldnt with the Chelsea fans.
You cant blame them for being supportive of thier club, just as you cant blame drogba for being passionate about winning. UEFA were right to punish him for being so foul mouthed to the ref, but put your self in his shoes… would you have done the same? I know I would have punched him and broke his nose for such poor refereeing.
Chris is right about the officiating always gets away with a job poorly done.
Personally I think that Uefa should punish ovrebo and then outlaw the away goal rule, as that game at Stamford Bridge was absolutely worthless…. it should have gone into over time…

adam, I’m sorry if my comments came across as whining, that was not my intention.

To recap, the point to my commenting was: (and I think we agree) Is that UEFA, FIFA, and officiating in general needs to be going in the opposite direction. Its going downhill, and while Drogba and Bosingwa will serve their bans, nothing is ever done about the officiating.

Sidenote: I have played football since I was very young, and been a Chelsea fan since 97. I live in the U.S. so in 97 it was difficult for me to even watch any oversees games.

Graham, I always find interesting reads in your articles. Keep it up!

Of course these idiotic biased statements are coming from Chelsea fans! I’m willing to bet you morons weren’t supporting them before Abramovich came along with his millions.

True, the officiating was poor for this match, but the way these goofs acted after was childish and 100% un-proffesional.

Ovrebo should be sanctioned, and officials should do better as a whole, and video replay should be used. But this article is completely correct, UEFA should show some balls and let the bans stand.

If you sensitive pre-madonnas don’t like bad officiating, then don’t watch football because 90% of games I watch are shite officiating. How did you whiners act during the 2002 world cup? That officiating was criminal! How would you have acted if Chelsea had 3 goals disallowed that were actually good! You hypocrites should watch more football, you might learn something!

I’ve not heard one disciplinary action on the referee…why? How can one referee be allowed to do this so many times in one game and get away with it? How can you ensure fairness when a referee can easily walk away from a match and suffer no consequence for doing such a piss-poor job? Who is watching the ref?????? I understand there seems to be a problem in attracting referees to the game, and you have to baby them and let them know you will protect and care for them and blah blah blah blah…..but seriously, is this really a problem? How hard is it to increase a salary or add more support on the field (security, linesmen, CAMERA REPLAY’S!!) in order to attract more to this profession?

In my opinion, the ref knew Chelsea held an advantage in the physical aspect of the game and clearly allowed Barca to play more aggressively than Chelsea in their defensive end in order to offset this. And, I would expect this to continue until UEFA gets the English to adapt to the Euro style, which inevitably will happen if they want to remain competitive.

this is a poor article

Being a Chelsea fan…

I am happy that each ban was reduced, although was not expecting them to be.

I don’t think this decision sends the wrong message though. The bans both players still face are in line, if not a bit harsh for their actions. 4 match bans for striking players are more common, but generally not talking. Admittedly Drogba was out of control though.

Either way players are punished regularly for negative actions either with yellow cards, red cards, bans, etc. The part about this whole situation that bothers me is that there has not been publicity on the corrective action UEFA is taking to correct the events like this from happening again.

Ovrebo literally sent Barcelona to the final. Even the most loyal of Barcelona has to admit that. Imagine referees deciding the world cup, the premier league, etc. UEFA officials are sending a message, that its ok for them to decide who plays, rather than the teams. Conspiracy theories aside, Ovrebo did rob Chelsea of a place in the final.

I have read several articles now where UEFA and other officials have condemned these high transfer fees and the like, but really what I think is more disconcerting is that these same officials seem to think that their own actions are alright. Yes you have to respect the referees, but its the officiating body that is responsible for ensuring those referees perform at the level for which that respect affords.

Drogba and Bosingwa will take their punishment. But UEFA needs to take steps to ensure that the greatest sport in the world isn’t ruined by its actions. Perhaps that’s a bit dramatic, but certainly referees having no standard whatsoever is a horrible step in the wrong direction

hi ur assumptions are stupid. if referees don show respect to the team there is no point in showing respect to them. One or two mistakes in a match is acceptable but 5 or 6 thats foolish.

hi ur assumptions are stupid. if referees don show respect to the team there is no point in showing respect to them. One or two mistakes in a match is acceptable but 5 or 6 thats foolish.

Being a Chelsea fan…

I am happy that each ban was reduced, although was not expecting them to be.

I don’t think this decision sends the wrong message though. The bans both players still face are in line, if not a bit harsh for their actions. 4 match bans for striking players are more common, but generally not talking. Admittedly Drogba was out of control though.

Either way players are punished regularly for negative actions either with yellow cards, red cards, bans, etc. The part about this whole situation that bothers me is that there has not been publicity on the corrective action UEFA is taking to correct the events like this from happening again.

Ovrebo literally sent Barcelona to the final. Even the most loyal of Barcelona has to admit that. Imagine referees deciding the world cup, the premier league, etc. UEFA officials are sending a message, that its ok for them to decide who plays, rather than the teams. Conspiracy theories aside, Ovrebo did rob Chelsea of a place in the final.

I have read several articles now where UEFA and other officials have condemned these high transfer fees and the like, but really what I think is more disconcerting is that these same officials seem to think that their own actions are alright. Yes you have to respect the referees, but its the officiating body that is responsible for ensuring those referees perform at the level for which that respect affords.

Drogba and Bosingwa will take their punishment. But UEFA needs to take steps to ensure that the greatest sport in the world isn’t ruined by its actions. Perhaps that’s a bit dramatic, but certainly referees having no standard whatsoever is a horrible step in the wrong direction

this is a poor article

I’ve not heard one disciplinary action on the referee…why? How can one referee be allowed to do this so many times in one game and get away with it? How can you ensure fairness when a referee can easily walk away from a match and suffer no consequence for doing such a piss-poor job? Who is watching the ref?????? I understand there seems to be a problem in attracting referees to the game, and you have to baby them and let them know you will protect and care for them and blah blah blah blah…..but seriously, is this really a problem? How hard is it to increase a salary or add more support on the field (security, linesmen, CAMERA REPLAY’S!!) in order to attract more to this profession?

In my opinion, the ref knew Chelsea held an advantage in the physical aspect of the game and clearly allowed Barca to play more aggressively than Chelsea in their defensive end in order to offset this. And, I would expect this to continue until UEFA gets the English to adapt to the Euro style, which inevitably will happen if they want to remain competitive.

Of course these idiotic biased statements are coming from Chelsea fans! I’m willing to bet you morons weren’t supporting them before Abramovich came along with his millions.

True, the officiating was poor for this match, but the way these goofs acted after was childish and 100% un-proffesional.

Ovrebo should be sanctioned, and officials should do better as a whole, and video replay should be used. But this article is completely correct, UEFA should show some balls and let the bans stand.

If you sensitive pre-madonnas don’t like bad officiating, then don’t watch football because 90% of games I watch are shite officiating. How did you whiners act during the 2002 world cup? That officiating was criminal! How would you have acted if Chelsea had 3 goals disallowed that were actually good! You hypocrites should watch more football, you might learn something!

adam, I’m sorry if my comments came across as whining, that was not my intention.

To recap, the point to my commenting was: (and I think we agree) Is that UEFA, FIFA, and officiating in general needs to be going in the opposite direction. Its going downhill, and while Drogba and Bosingwa will serve their bans, nothing is ever done about the officiating.

Sidenote: I have played football since I was very young, and been a Chelsea fan since 97. I live in the U.S. so in 97 it was difficult for me to even watch any oversees games.

Graham, I always find interesting reads in your articles. Keep it up!

I am like Chris, a proud American- except I aint a Chelsea fan. I became a ManU fan in 99, but the first 2 games I saw them play in ended in lossed to Chelsea(5-0) and then Arsenal(2-0). After that, I only heard of what they were doing and never saw them again until Rooney scored a hat trick in his debut for them.
I may be a ManU fan- and after so many seasons supporting them I have became die hard- but I agree with the Chelsea fans over their anger with that sorry excuse for a referee. If you watch a replay of the game, you’ll see quite a few times where the CFC players are knocked over in the penalty box. Clearly, Chelsea should have been in the cl final, but thanks to the worst refereeing I have seen in 10 years since I started watching professional football, they werent.
Adam, forgive if I sound like a whining ManU fan who whishes CFC had beaten barca and gone on to lose to MUFC, but as I like to have my say and I am not as biased over football, even when it comes to my team, I think you shouldnt have any thing against my post, as you shouldnt with the Chelsea fans.
You cant blame them for being supportive of thier club, just as you cant blame drogba for being passionate about winning. UEFA were right to punish him for being so foul mouthed to the ref, but put your self in his shoes… would you have done the same? I know I would have punched him and broke his nose for such poor refereeing.
Chris is right about the officiating always gets away with a job poorly done.
Personally I think that Uefa should punish ovrebo and then outlaw the away goal rule, as that game at Stamford Bridge was absolutely worthless…. it should have gone into over time…

Believe me, I’ve been infuriated several times by bad calls. As we speak, I’m watching Bayern v Wolfsburg on Goltv, and the ref called a penalty on a dive from Grafite. That was a pretty bad call. Week in week out refs call it wrong. They even get it wrong against Barcelona. And they always seem to mess things up in the WC and Euros! Of course I get pissed when my team gets screwd, but I also realize when players act like animals and cross the line! Are you people telling me that everytime a refs makes a bad call, players can get violent and beligerent? There’s something called responsibility and professionalism when you reach that level of sport. I clearly agreed with you about sanctioning Ovrebo, improving officiating as a whole and implementing video replays, but until that happens, we can’t allow players to run wild, and we can’t justify their actions simply because they’re on our team!

Personally I am glad the ref did not call a penalty

Chelsea blew so many goals, Drogba had a chance to score in both games on break aways and in Barcelona he was basically 1 v 1 with the keeper and failed to put it away.

Chelsea blew the game, it would of been such a lame way to win the game on a penalty.

Not only that the Barcelona was down a man(which I believe was not a red card) and Chelsea wanted to play counter attack

so all in and all CHELSEA BLEW IT just like they did against MU

I’m a die hard chelsea fan and i’m totally amazed/disapointed by the penalty reduction,i seriously want him to be punished severely(Drogba),we are all crying about penalties not given,what about the chances wasted,even by Drogba,what if the penalties were given and still was saved or lost?,chelsea messed up that day and should be mad at themselves and not at the referee,and should take total responsibility for their actions,Drogba was substituted for acting,he wasnt injured and could continue the match,same was with the finals last year when he was red carded for bad spotsmanship,how can you slap a player on the pitch and swear on live Tv and any one would not be against you,yes he apologized after his actions,but why apologize when you can put your emotions in check? afterall they played against ten men,i trust liverpool or manchester united.

adam u sound like a child.. im no chelsea fan by the way…

Sherry, you sound uneducated. Your arguments are purely based on opinion, but you never back them up with logic or even attempt to prove your point with facts. This makes you sound ignorant. Come back when you have a clue 😉

Finally there are some posts galores, the past few weeks there has been a drought.
Jake, I know Chelsea blew it, especially Drogba, and the game was a poor one( especially when compared to the way ManU and Arsenal played, that was brilliant) but the game effectively ended as a draw at the end of regulation time and by aggregate. Barca only won on that controversial and retarded Away goal rule( I would complain about it even if my team won by that rule, it just seems unfair). It really should have ended with CFC as the victor, either 2-1 or 3-1.
If I remember correctly, one of the barca players made a clear handball, and moments later Ballack was booked for trying to persuade the ref to call a penalty.
The red card on Pique, though, shouldnt have happened… Anelka made a clear dive.
In truth, Barca was the day’s better team, but I still think CFC should have won, even if they did it on penalties in regulation time or any kind of goal in extra time- which is what shouldve happened when barca equalized.

All in all..Chelsea didn’t play as they should have, and since we cannot debate the refs judgement, i’m totally against UEFA reducing the penalties on Didi and Bosi b/c it makes it seem like there is some understanding of the situation and that Chelsea had reason to get fired up.

But, is there a need for UEFA/FIFA to provide more back-up for the refs on the field? If we can resort to replays and more eyes on the field, teams will get their fair chance on the play. Also, with all of that in place, it acts as a deterrence to foul play. Or, are we all happy with the officiating that we accept as the norm? I’m guessing only a Chelsea fan would say no to that right now.

Adam – I hear you. This is the way the game has been officiated, so you have to adapt to it. But, what I’m trying to say is that poor officiating is not fair and it actually entices these types of behaviours and controversy.

I think Chelsea’s only fault in that game is that they didn’t strike enough…or should I say, didn’t get the strikes on net that they should have…they were able to get some strikes in and physically dominated but did not want to underestimate Barca’s potential on the offence, so they played defensively. I couldn’t believe how much Chelsea just wanted to defend the ball instead of playing it up the field – well, I think it was b/c Barca was rushing forwards up the field like crazy and we didn’t want to get countered. But, Barca (as expected) played with the ball for a majority of the match but couldn’t create enough space to get around in. I don’t think Barca played better than Chelsea at all…as a matter of fact, Chelsea had Barca stifled…say what you want about them filling the Chelsea half with 9 defenders, but with a team like Barca, why would you give them any room to play around in? Barca might play a better style, but Chelsea had the defense and lacked offense. Of course, Barca got one shot in and made it count – but, this is Barca’s threat – you don’t want these guys anywhere near the goal. In my mind, the score should have been 3-1 Chelsea (if penalties were awarded), but hat’s off to Barca for never giving up and coming through in the clutch.

The away goal is the away goal…I like it b/c it adds more to what’s at stake but I hear you too Brad, I wouldn’t have any problems seeing it go either.

Also, please guys…can we stop with the verbal attacks on each other? It’s a forum for discussion…not a forum for you to attack. In other words, SHOW SOME PROFESSIONALISM, as UEFA would say.

Brad,

The red was on Abidal by the way and even if Anelka didnt dive the tackle wasnt a hard one or he wasnt trying to hurt him, but its part of the game ya know

and Ballack deserved that because he chased down the ref and almost tackled him lol Im surprised ballack wasnt suspended neither for that fit that he threw.

But instead of chasing the ref he should of went and pressured the ball. I hate when players dont play to the whistle and they just stop playing cause they didnt get what they wanted.

But they didnt, they wanted the ref to hand them the game and they didnt deserve that game. They could of won 2-1, 3-1 if there strikers would put the ball in the back of the net but they didnt. To me those where handballs but they werent intentional and its not like those balls were heading to the back of the net.
Towards the end when ballack chased the ref the ball hit Henry on the back of his arm when his back was turned but Henry had his arm against his body, there is no way that is a penalty there was nothing there. To me Chelsea played like they didnt want the game. they could of put it away early but they just didnt want it and they didnt deserve to be in the finals, they would proly just choke on PK’s again

ya – that’s kind of along the lines of what I thought too…Chelsea just wasn’t giving enough on the offense to win which is why those penalty kicks would have come in handy.

As for UEFA, there is no reason to acknowledge Chelsea’s frustration if you’re not going to do anything about it in terms of improving the officiating. But since the officiating is not a problem the punishment should have been upheld and hands washed of the issue.

I think Adam said that this is how the game is, and has been, officiated so you need to adapt to it…makes perfect sense…except to UEFA (I think)…did they ever disclose why they lessened the ban but not the cash? haha….i’m so confused over this….’Bad Chelsea, good Ref…but poor Chelsea tsk tsk….ok, we’ll take all the money and you can get back to playing sooner. Thank you, come again’.

Oh, my bad Jake, I saw Pique get a card and I forgot it was Abidal who got sent off. The usual mistake when so many cards are shown in one game. It happens a good bit to me.
Knowing the way Chelsea was in the games agaisnt barca, I doubt that, even if they had gone through to the final, they wouldnt have to go into so much as extra time. Chelsea most likely would have had a hangover.
But whatever hangover they couldve had has gone away, and it was clearly shown when they beat Seattle Sounders- a very good team who fought hard- 2-0 today.
Coming back to the topic, jes a sidenote…
Chelsea are a very good team, but they didnt play up to what I expected against barca. They didnt attack enough- and when they didnt, I was thinkin:” is this really the team that was lead by Scolari and Mourinho?”- and when they did, they always met with frustration, both with the barca defenders and the ref- you cant jes blame the ref- and some of those frustrations wound up into bookins(ballack, and drogba after the game ended).
It was almost like watching Argentina in the 1990 World Cup final. Not good….
But Chelsea, being one of the world’s best, will recover. I dont really know if I should say they already have.
And Drogba, well he just has to serve his ban and then get back into everyone’s good graces again.

@Chris
“Imagine referees deciding the world cup, the premier league, etc.” If you are a Chelsea fan, surely you have seen Howard Webb give United victories that should’ve been draws time and time again, and seen referees on the international stage allow Italy to pull their bullshit. Referees influence the outcome of the game in football more so than in any other sport in the world. A sad and disheartening but true fact.

I’m an Arsenal fan and was glad to see Barca beat Manure in the final but I definetely feel for ya as I think Chelsea should have been in that final. I don’t really like Chelsea, but c’mon, that last penalty Ovrebo waived off was just ridiculous. UEFA wanted to prevent another all-English final, plain and simple. Good luck next year, see you in the London Derby.

Patrick, I know you arent happy with ManU haven beating your tema in the semis, but as there was an English club- and might I remind everyone there was a three way tie between Italy, England, and Spain for the most trophies in UEFA, and if I was an Englishman who supported a different club but wanted my country in the lead for trophies- you should have supported ManU. I am just statin that. Normally, when a American fan’s team is beaten in a knockout formula tournament, they support the team that beat them. I wish yall would do the same.
Off topic, my bad….

Both u and Chris are right though, it seems as though referees decides who wins when it comes to Italy and- I hate to say this, as I am a ManU fan, but I accept the facts and this is an obvious one- ManU, and the players of the losing team act outrageously and get punished, but what happens to the ref?
NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is as though UEFA is too CHICKEN to punish their own officials. particularly Ovrebo.

Uefa pliz bring back Colina and co.

Fifa has made the most encouraging decision for the chealse fans.thanks from hope.

I don’t see anything encouraging about the decision personally, but i’m willing to consider that there is something there that i’m just overlooking.

Why has football been so slow to implement replay technology? They’re so adamant about player professionalism, but what about the integrity of the sport?

Is one ref all you really need to officiate a match? I have never seen so few officials on such a large playing ground in any sport.

I don’t think UEFA has resolved any of the issues this match presented – except address their dwindling petty cash account.

Didi and Bosingwa were on that day disgraceful in their conduct. Likewise Mikhail Ballack but their were 3 teams on the pitch that day
A) the Barca team that never gave up fighting.
B) the Chelsea team that showed the whole World how to play Barcelona, demystifying the spanish team and showing that possession de ballon is nothing as far as tactical play is concerned. (kudos to the great tactician Guus). Even Pep Guardiola had gone to congratulate Hindink before Barca got their goal
C) the referee and his assistants that disgraced every one that has put on the Fifa badge by performing so abysmally I was in ahock fr several weeks after that match. UEFA has to come out publicly and do the right thing, and that is punish Ovrebo. This will return fan’s confidence that was badly damaged by the show of shame of that day!

well said Silvers…

I’m still hesitant about punishing Ovrebo b/c I think FIFA/UEFA should be held responsible for the officiating and ensuring fairness and integrity…the ref does what he is supposed to do and there should be measures in place to ensure that he is doing his job…

So, what is UEFA doing about ensuring fairness and integrity besides punishing the teams and players who fall victim to this mockery? Is it doing all it can?

Nice comments! I’ve noticed there are several chris’ and Chris’ running about, so I am changing my name for commenting.

Not that any of you cared, but I thought I’d share. Woo! I Rhymededed.

CFC Fan, I couldnt agree with u anymore over FIFA and UEFA- frankly, all of the other regions like CONCACAF should be included for this, too- having to take responsibility- since they aint taking any at all- for their poor officials.
This is quite ridiculous… I wonder when this saga of poor officiating will end… perhaps never….. oh GOD ALMIGHTY BRING HELP!!!!!!!

Anybody watch Real Madrid in the Peace Cup this weekend?

Did anyone see CR get shoved down from the back when he broke in to the box? No call tho…ref must have been “TOO FAR AWAY” to see it…it’s hilarious b/c they are able to show countless replays instantly…yet it is not used in the game.

Would CR have scored? – probably. Could he have been injured from a blind-side attack (not tackle – attack)? – probably.

Maybe the ref was biased towards CR and his diving tactics to actually see the play…another reason why FIFA should be intervening.

In the eyes of all sensible people, UEFA has lost all moral authority. There is no one within this very poor organisation with dignity, to apologize for the amateurish performance of their employee, namely, Ref Ovrebo. Any staff who so publicly let down his emplyers, will do himself a favour by not ever returning to the office! But, UEFA? Bah! It seriously calls into question the competence of those who appointed him in the first place. Or was he ‘being a good boy’? Then no wonder he’s back officiating. Someone had the courage to call a spade a spade. Drogba and Bosingwa did. Only an idiot will castigate them for that.

Adam, you’re a mug!!

I have been watching the Blues since I was 4 (a family thing and a good thing). You state that Drogs and Bossie should serve their bans and that UEFA should not punish the ref after that shambles, tell ma Adam do you actually go to any games or are you an arm chair fanatic (and before you ridicule me I have been a season ticket holder since the early 90’s.

If your argument is to hold water (which it does not), can you tell me why half of the Barca team were not banned for calling the ref a cheat from the first leg (and before you say they did not check out the stories mug). They were deriding that guy for not sending off the Chelsea players as they were to physical for the poor dears, after all I guess Chelsea forgot to understand that your not allowed to tackle a poor little Catalan!!

The fact is Overthehill as ref has previously apologised to the Italian FA for mistakes in Euro 2008, so why have UEFA not told him to do the same?

I think before you can comment on a players reaction you have to have been there to judge how angry and upset the whole stadium was that the team who deserved (yes for the way they out thought and out fought Barca in both legs) to be in the final to make amends for a penalty slip from the previous year was robbed to allow UEFA’s pets to get there instead, felt. I understand this as I was there and even now I’m angry at the whole thing.

UEFA should hold their heads in shame reduce the player’s bans to a suspended sentence and sack that muppet of a ref!! However one feels like maybe he was just obeying orders…

P.S. Adam You’re a MUG!!!!

the writer is saying crap! in his last paragraphs.

if the ref thinks he deserve respect, he should respect others also and be objective and professional in his decisions.