The European Competitions Thread

[didierforever 7,349]

the best thing is, after going on about the "chelsea bus" for almost a year now, united could not drive theirs for 10 minutes at their own home while we did that for 45 minutes, 10 men at bloody camp nou.

LET THE BLOODY WORLD KNOW THAT CHELSEA IS THE BEST...

[JDY 1,290]

Mourinho: "Barcelona are an incredible side, Paris [saint-Germain] are a great team, Bayern too, nobody mentions Dortmund, Celtic are Celtic. Arsenal? I'm sorry but they can't do it"

Lol

[Blue-in-me-Veins 4,067]

Andy Townsend got it right on highlights - the Ref didn't send off the keeper after he double punched Vidic (nice)

So Nani was unlucky...

But they are out - hopefully they will be feeling sorry for themselves and Rooney causes some trouble about being left out - anything that coud work in our favour

Come on the Chelsea - lets add more misery to Manchester

Im going to assume you mean Manchester City? :eyebrows:

[FabHazard 655]

to all those who are saying its not a red,nani stretched his leg after the contact definitely a straight red.as a player he should be aware of his surroundings

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

to all those who are saying its not a red,nani stretched his leg after the contact definitely a straight red.as a player he should be aware of his surroundings

It's not a red. If a Chelsea player got a red like that, we'd rightly be livid, especially in a match of this magnitude. Nani went to try to knock the ball down with his foot and didn't see the player. Yes, a red was justifiable by the laws of the game, but refs never abide purely by the laws of the game. It reminds me of the Canada/US women's football match in the Olympics where the US was awarded a free kick inside the penalty box because the Canadian keeper held on to the ball for more than 6 seconds. US scored and won the game because of that. Technically, it is justifiable to make calls like that, but it's also terrible refereeing. ManU was up 1-0, a close, exciting game, you don't give a red unless it is impossible not to. The same way you don't give a penalty unless you're sure because it will change the game entirely. Had Nani got a yellow, nobody would have thought twice about it. Every game, there are some calls that can go either way. The referee should not impose himself on the game unless necessary.

[Santiago. 1,500]

It's not a red. If a Chelsea player got a red like that, we'd rightly be livid, especially in a match of this magnitude. Nani went to try to knock the ball down with his foot and didn't see the player. Yes, a red was justifiable by the laws of the game, but refs never abide purely by the laws of the game. It reminds me of the Canada/US women's football match in the Olympics where the US was awarded a free kick inside the penalty box because the Canadian keeper held on to the ball for more than 6 seconds. US scored and won the game because of that. Technically, it is justifiable to make calls like that, but it's also terrible refereeing. ManU was up 1-0, a close, exciting game, you don't give a red unless it is impossible not to. The same way you don't give a penalty unless you're sure because it will change the game entirely. Had Nani got a yellow, nobody would have thought twice about it. Every game, there are some calls that can go either way. The referee should not impose himself on the game unless necessary.

Depends how you look at it. The discussion will always be up for debate but whether or not there was intent is irrelevant, it is dangerous play. Torres vs Cleverly. De Jong vs Alonso, all incidents where the wrong call was made and if made right, would change the game completely. This ref decided to make the right call because what Nani did was foul play and Nani should have never condoned himself in such a situation of bringing his foot that high unaware of his surroundings. The ref clearly thought it through, hence him not making the call right away, understood the circumstances of the game and what needed to be done, and made the brave and RIGHT decision to send him off. It's unfortunate, but it's the rules.

Fucking despise how United fans are reacting towards Roy Kean's comments towards the call. Calling out a Club Legend because he is agreeing with the officiating in making the honest and right call instead of giving some BS answer to appease the United fans and SAF.

[Jase 43,479]

Mourinho was right to say that the better team lost. On paper, Madrid may have the better players and team but Man United executed their game plan to perfection last night. They stayed tight and solid defensively as a team without the ball and were creating great chances when they had it. With a little bit of luck, they would have been leading 1-0 or 2-0 before Ramos scored that OG. Madrid were quite clueless then as they didn't have the means to break down United's defence. But that red card obviously changed the game and ruined it completely.

Personally, I don't think the red card was a red card. Yes Nani's boot was rather high but he was watching the ball the whole time then and his intention was always to control the dropping ball. The contact happened only because Arbeloa came flying in and collided with Nani's boot, which was just an unfortunate collision. It's not like Nani knew Arbeloa was standing there and he raised his boot. Furthermore, there was even hardly a protest from the players when that incident happened. If anything, this was even worse and Drogba got a yellow card for it!

[nachikethas 1,154]

This will have direct implications for us. 100% they would have been tired and distracted on sunday now they will be hugely motivated.

remember barca last year. lost against us highly motivated against real(lost it) again highly motivated against us(lost again)

[Santiago. 1,500]

Personally, I don't think the red card was a red card. Yes Nani's boot was rather high but he was watching the ball the whole time then and his intention was always to control the dropping ball. The contact happened only because Arbeloa came flying in and collided with Nani's boot, which was just an unfortunate collision. It's not like Nani knew Arbeloa was standing there and he raised his boot.

Intent or not is completely irrelevant in this action of play. Not like Nani knew Arbeloa was there? Is that a statement in terms of some sort of defense? Is Nani alone on the pitch? Did he forget there are 20 players with him? Did he forget who was man marking him for 60 minutes? Nani had his head up in the air the entire time and condoned himself in a dangerous play in which he should have been aware of his surroundings.

That's what the whole situation was, unfortunate, but the right call.

[Rmpr 8,977]

Intent or not is completely irrelevant in this action of play. Not like Nani knew Arbeloa was there? Is that a statement in terms of some sort of defense? Is Nani alone on the pitch? Did he forget there are 20 players with him? Did he forget who was man marking him for 60 minutes? Nani had his head up in the air the entire time and condoned himself in a dangerous play in which he should have been aware of his surroundings.

That's what the whole situation was, unfortunate, but the right call.

You are priceless!

[Jase 43,479]

Intent or not is completely irrelevant in this action of play. Not like Nani knew Arbeloa was there? Is that a statement in terms of some sort of defense? Is Nani alone on the pitch? Did he forget there are 20 players with him? Did he forget who was man marking him for 60 minutes? Nani had his head up in the air the entire time and condoned himself in a dangerous play in which he should have been aware of his surroundings.

That's what the whole situation was, unfortunate, but the right call.

Not gonna bother getting into this whole debate. Everyone have their opinions and views.

For me, it just wasn't a red card. It might have been a dangerous challenge if one follow the law but not every challenge like that is a straight red card, with a little bit of proper thought behind it. And as said, the fact that there was hardly a protest from the players then said it all.

One thing to add. It's easy for us to sit down here and say Nani should have been aware of his surroundings. When that ball was cleared by a United player and coming to him, his one and only intention was always to control the ball down and get at Madrid on the break as one of their attacks just broke down. The incident was made to look bad only because Arbeloa came flying in. It's not like he was just standing there and Nani raised his boots high up.

Edited March 6, 2013 by BluesMaster

[Ankit 3,176]

All said and done, anybody expects Fergie to come out and say "Arbeloa could have been killed". :lol2:

[Santiago. 1,500]

You are priceless!

Not gonna bother getting into this whole debate. Everyone have their opinions and views.

For me, it just wasn't a red card. It might have been a dangerous challenge if one follow the law but not every challenge like that is a straight red card, with a little bit of proper thought behind it. And as said, the fact that there was hardly a protest from the players then said it all.

One thing to add. It's easy for us to sit down here and say Nani should have been aware of his surroundings. When that ball was cleared by a United player and coming to him, his one and only intention was always to control the ball down and get at Madrid on the break as one of their attacks just broke down. The incident was made to look bad only because Arbeloa came flying in. It's not like he was just standing there and Nani raised his boots high up.

Hence the unfortunate part, but it still conflicts with the regulations of the game thus being a red card. Nani is not the only one on the pitch and didn't even once looked around him before raising his foot. No matter what the circumstances are, at the end of the day, he made the right call.

I'm just defending WHY the ref made that call and how it was the right one imo.

[bluephoenix 1,131]

dont care whether red or not ... Manu out !

[mybodyisready 155]

if I was a man u fan, I'd be furious. However, since I'm a chelsea fan, I'm gonna sit back, laugh and continue to watch the replay.

Utd have had big decisions go their way for years and years and years, so it's funny to see their reaction when something goes against them. Fuck off united you twats

[Fulham Broadway 17,317]

Not the spirit of the law , but the letter of the law -United need to get over it, -bad decisions -been there got the T shirt.

I can hear Ferguson now saying it ''was the right decision'' had any Real player been sent off for the same offence

For all the talk of Ferguson being a great tactician, not altering the shape or substitutes after Nanis removal and being 1-0 up was criminal.

[didierforever 7,349]

hehehehehehee... pay back is a bitch...

[Fulham Broadway 17,317]

Aside the red card, Ryan Giggs is truly a legend to the game.

Especially to his wife and brother

[SinineUltra 1,170]

There was a quote for this: If you drive over a road crossing and close your eyes, will you be of fault if you run someone over? For me it was orange card, maybe yellow, maybe red but the ref chose the last one - no complaints.

[Fulham Broadway 17,317]

Arbeloa could have been killed....