UEFAlona Conspiracy: Truth or Myth

Background + Disclaimer: On 27th April 2011, Real Madrid coach José Mourinho accused UEFA of purposefully favouring Barcelona through refereeing decisions in the post-match press conference after a 2-0 defeat to Barcelona at home. This caused plenty of controversy, with a large number of fans supporting his accusations while others disagreeing with the Portuguese tactician’s arguments. Hence the purpose of this post is to address and shed light on the claims made and as a result, controversy and criticism are inevitable therefore it is necessary to insist that any biased intent is avoided in writing this post other than merely voicing the writer’s personal views on how certain refereeing mistakes have had impacts on Barcelona’s success over the past few years. I have, more likely than not, missed a few incidents which I apologise in advance and also ask if you mention them below (with reference, preferably a video or image link where possible).


Scandal of Stamford Bridge

2008-09 Champions League semi-final – second leg (Chelsea 1-1 Barcelona); There are not many Barcelona fans who will forget 6 May 2009. Despite perhaps being inferior to one of the strongest Chelsea sides in history, a late equaliser by Andrés Iniesta meant Barcelona would go on to win Champions League and consequently the famous sextuple and being regarded as one of the best club teams in history of football, awing the football fans around the world with their beautiful brand of play. But there were a number of strong penalty shouts that were denied by the infamous Norwegian referee Tom Øvrebø in the second leg. The entire Chelsea squad blasted the referee with players such as Lampard, Ballack and Drogba (who called the UEFA officiating a f**king disgrace) used strong words towards the referee. Chelsea's temporary manager Guus Hiddink also questioned the quantity of referee's judgements that went against Chelsea and felt the decisions were “hard to digest”.

Guus Hiddink's men had five penalty claims. These penalty shouts ranged from Éric Abidal’s slight pull of Didier Drogba's shirt, the episode involving Drogba and Yaya Touré wrestling for the ball, Dani Alves hauling down Florent Malouda which might have happened inside the box but a free kick was awarded and handball appeals when Gerard Piqué and Samuel Eto'o blocked Chelsea's attempts at goal with their arms, of which two of them were very strong claims (both handballs). Not many neutral football fans will disagree that Barcelona deserved to have at least a couple of those penalties against them.

 It sure does look like a bit of conspiracy looking solely at these evidences. But let’s go back a week earlier to Camp Nou where a strong call for penalty (Bosingwa’s shirt pull on Henry) was ignored in the first leg.

 The referee also failed to send off Ballack, and also harshly booked Carles Puyol, forcing Barcelona to start a left-back at centre-back, and a centre midfielder at left-back in the second-leg.

 Also during the second leg, Abidal was sent off in 66th minute with a straight red card for a challenge outside the penalty area. But video replays show there was in fact minimal/no contact made by Abidal on his compatriot and Nicolas Anelka in fact tripped over his own feet.

Conclusion: This is a tough decision but most agree that Barcelona got more decisions wrong in favour of them than against.



Scandal of Camp Nou I

2009-10 Champions League semi-final – second leg (Barcelona 1-0 Internazionale); An infamous and controversial decision during this match was the dismissal of Thiago Motta with a straight red card. The former Barcelona midfielder, at the time of incident was already booked with a yellow card in the tenth minute. There certainly was contact, but there is no doubt that Busquets made the most of the situation. However, a second yellow was inevitable for the Brazilian born player hence it would not have mattered whether he received a second yellow or a straight red from the referee.

Now, let’s go back a week earlier in San Siro, where Diego Milito’s goal gave Internazionale a 3-1 lead. Replays show that Argentine striker was in offside position where the ball was played to him

Not to mention a late goal by Bojan Krkić was disallowed and called handball Yaya Touré while the Ivorian’s hand was closed on his chest. This goal would have taken Barcelona to final.

There were also a few penalty shouts in favour of Barcelona which were all denied, namely Sneijder’s tackle on Dani Alves in the first leg as well as Muntari’s pull on Alves the edge of 18 yard box during the second leg.

 Conclusion: Despite many claims, it was Inter who were favoured by referee’s mistakes.



Scandal of Camp Nou II:

Champions League 2010-11 Round of 16 - second leg (Barcelona 3 –1 Arsenal); Perhaps one of the most crucial moments of this match was Van Persie being sent off for time wasting after being called offside 10 minutes into the second half. There were a couple of seconds between the referee blowing his whistle and Van Persie shooting, which is difficult for any player to react to, especially considering the noise levels in Camp Nou. The red card (second yellow card) therefore was unjustified.

Going back to Emirates however, Barcelona were denied a goal scored by Messi as he was onside when Pedro struck the ball. It certainly was a tough decision for the linesman to call offside but it is safe to say that it was the wrong one.

Two strong penalty shouts in favour of Barcelona were denied in Emirates too (Djourou’s handball, a couple of half challenges by Koscielny, not to mention Arshavin could have been penalised for a handball inside the 18 yard box in the end)

 

Add this to a clear penalty on Messi in the second leg and it becomes clear that Barcelona were certainly not favoured by refereeing mistakes.

Also, video footage shows that Van Persie could have received a second yellow card for a late challenge on Messi as well as a couple of physical fights involving Abidal and Valdés when ball was out of play.

 Conclusion: Contrary to popular belief and Wenger’s post-match comments, Arsenal were favoured by the referee’s wrong decisions over two legs.



Scandal of Bernabéu:

Champions League 2010-11 semi-final – first leg (Real Madrid 0 – 2 Barcelona); From Chelsea to Inter to Madrid, it is no secret that Mourinho’s teams tend to get a player sent off against Barcelona on a frequent basis. In this match, Pepe did the honours by receiving a straight red card for a challenge on Dani Alves. Many fans believe since there was no physical contact between the players and therefore no punishment was necessary and I believe they are absolutely right in the former part of the argument but absolutely wrong in the latter. You don't necessarily have to shoot someone in order to be found guilty. If you point a gun at somebody, you are accused of shooting. Talking football - and these are rules set by FIFA, any dangerous act that can cause injury to a player is punished, whether it injures the player or not. Many argue that if Dani Alves hadn't moved his leg away from the incoming challenge, his shinbone would have been shattered to pieces. A yellow card was without a doubt inevitable for the Brazilian-born Portuguese who is famous for overly-aggressive behaviour. A red, debatable.

In the second leg, another controversial decision occurred with Higuaín converted a chance but the goal was disallowed because of a foul from Cristiano Ronaldo on Mascherano. Replays showed however that the Argentine fell over after minimal contact from an unbalanced Cristiano Ronaldo. This indeed was a dive in the eyes of most and could potentially change the outcome of the match with Real Madrid going 1-0 at early on in the second half.

Scandal of Camp Nou III

Champions League 2011-12 quarter-final – second leg (Barcelona 3 – 1 AC Milan); The latest calls for scandal come from two debatable penalty calls in favour of Barcelona in this match. The first penalty call was from a tackle on Messi, who was in an offside position while the ball was played by Xavi (albeit the pass was not directed to the Argentine). The situation is a 50-50, as the referee’s interpretation could be either a deflection (no penalty) or a miss-control (penalty) from Antonini.

The second debatable penalty call was when Nesta was caught pushing Busquets to the ground before a corner kick was taken. Although pulling and pushing happens regularly during indirect freekicks around the world, the rules clearly say any act of such sort would be a foul in the penalty area and therefore a penalty. In this case however, most argue that since the ball was not being played (even though the referee had given Xavi the nod to take the corner), a foul could not be called. On an off-topic note, shirt pulling, pushing and tugging during indirect free kicks must be stopped and consistency must be shown in refereeing decisions regarding these cases.

Going back a week earlier though, a clear penalty on Alexis Sánchez was denied in the first leg as well as clever push and pull by Nesta on Dani Alves in the 18 yard box during the second leg.

Conclusion: Refereeing mistakes were even for both teams over two legs, if not favouring AC Milan a little more overall.

Final Conclusion: Referees, just like players are not perfect. There are decisions in every match that unfortunately go wrong and can go in favour or against any team. Recently there has been a lot of focus on a number of critical refereeing mistakes which have gone in favour of Barcelona but many seem to have ignored a large number of decisions that go against them. Recent evidence however shows that in general, decisions have gone for and against Barcelona at an even rate.

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Club rivals Lionel Messi & Gonzalo Higuaín combine to make a deadly partnership for Argentina

Animosities between Barcelona and Real Madrid were put aside for the night in Buenos Aires, as the pair delivered phenomenal performances to lead the Argentine side to victory.

 It is hardly a secret that the venerable institutions of Barcelona and Real Madrid do not always see eye-to-eye. For decades one of the most famous rivalries in world football, recent seasons have seen an ugly escalation to proceedings.

Verbal tirades off the pitch in the press are followed by ugly clashes on it, and the situation reached boiling point in this year's Supercopa when members of each team's coaching staff squared up on the sidelines. There is no denying, however, that away from the fracas the Spanish giants are blessed with outrageously talented players; and two of them combined delightfully on Friday evening in what can only be an extremely encouraging sign for Argentine football.

In his competitive debut as Albiceleste coach, Alejandro Sabella took the decision to pair Lionel Messi and Gonzalo Higuaín together as his two front-men. He was rewarded by one of the most convincing performances by the side in recent memory, as Chile submitted to a 4-1 defeat in the Monumental to mark a perfect start to the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.

Mention must be made of the opponents, who committed football hara-kiri in Buenos Aires. Roja coach Claudio Borghi must be admired for refusing to play for a draw, but an all-out attacking formation was painfully exposed away from home, and missing players of the calibre of Alexis Sánchez one must wonder if the amiable trainer got it wrong in not giving at least a wink to pragmatism during what turned into an Andean nightmare. 

Let's not take anything away from the hosts though, and especially Higuaín. 'Pipita' has the reputation of a prolific - if occasionally profligate - goalscorer, but on Friday he offered signs that he can be the natural heir to Gabriel Batistuta and so much more.

He ran, sprinting a full 70m to punish Chile on the counter-attack and get on the end of Ángel di María's exquisite ball to notch the first. He passed, threading Messi through for the second goal with an assist the Barcelona man would have been proud of.

And, of course, he scored. The hat-trick he notched was composed of three world-class finishes: a bombastic blast past Bravo with the right; a half-volley converted with the left without blinking; a second with his weaker foot delicately placed out of the hapless keeper's reach. His triple brought him up to 13 in just 19 appearances with the national team, an impressive record for any striker.

For Messi, even though the humble Rosario native would never admit it, there is one statistic that was key on Friday. Two years, six months and nine days: the time that had elapsed between 'La Pulga's' last competitive international goal, in a 4-0 victory over Venezuela. An incredible drought, especially when considering that in the two full seasons that passed in that period, he netted no less than 100 times for Barcelona.

And boy, did he enjoy it. Having all but robbed the ball from di María's boot-strings for the right to beat Bravo, Messi let slip the most fleeting glimpse of bashful contrition as he hugged the Madrid man, before also being embraced by Higuaín in a moment that Argentine fans will hope serves as a release for all the tension that had built up in the days of the inexplicable drought.

Other players also excelled in River Plate's home. Di María looked more comfortable than ever in national team colours, his move down the field necessitating a more democratic approach to his game which was amply shown with two wonderful assists for 'Pipita'. He was ably assisted in the creative department by Jose Sosa, who never stopped running and drifting across the field and who did more than most to disorientate an already punch-drunk Chile defence in the second-half.

The night, however, belonged to Messi and Higuaín. They sealed the victory beyond a shadow of a doubt with an exhibition move which ended in a goal. Almost taking glee in torturing isolated centre-back Waldo Ponce after a defensive error, a succession of tricks and flicks between the two left Gonzalo all alone, and the on-fire striker was never going to miss as he secured his hat-trick. 4-1 Argentina, and what Sabella and the entire nation hopes was the birth of the partnership to restore joy to the Albiceleste faithful.

After the pain and suffering of the Copa América, one had almost forgot that, with some of the best players in the world, Argentina were capable of playing explosive attacking football. Friday's demolition serves as a timely reminder for South America and the world what the nation can still do; and they have the unlikely union of Blanco and Blaugrana to thank for it.  

Originally written by: Daniel Edwards

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