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So, three stonewall penalties not given, one almost certain penalty turned down and pretty much every decision on the night given in one team’s favour. You could be forgiven for thinking that you had just watched an episode of Dream Team on Sky One. It’s only when you realise that the channel you are on is Sky Sports 1 and this is a real football match, and a Champions League Semi-Final nonetheless, that you start to question what has happened.
OK, you think, well at least millions of people around the world have seen this and investigations can be conducted. You go to bed and wait to see what is made of it in the cold light of day. However, rather than awakening to outrage that this has been allowed to happen you see that the back pages of the newspapers are instead more interested in slamming the side that has so clearly been wronged just because a few of their players have dared to question the referee’s appalling performance and some fans have allegedly made some remarkably quick ‘death-threats’ to the man resulting in him being smuggled back to his own country.
By now anyone who has not been in a coma for the past few weeks will realise that I am referring to the events that took place at Stamford Bridge on 6th May 2009 in the second leg of the Champions League Semi-Final between Chelsea and Barcelona and that the ill-treated side was Chelsea. Much has been said about this but, as Rafa Benitez would say, let’s look at the facts.
Firstly, and most importantly, it is a fact that Michel Platini, President of UEFA, did not want an all-English Champions League final for the second year in a row. He has made this quite clear. The fact that it was to be the same two teams competing would have made him even more determined to not let it happen. He placed a Norwegian referee in charge who had made high-profile mistakes in the past (Italy v Romania in Euro 2008 for example) and in all likelihood told him to prevent an all-English final any way that he could. Sure, he sent off a Barcelona player, but this was a left-back who would have no influence on the rest of the game and was the worst player on the pitch. Had he not sent him off there would have been no argument against the conspiracy. All very convenient.
Tom Henning Ovrebo, the Norwegian referee in question, apparently received death threats. Ridiculous. A few fans had said they would like to kill him on an internet forum. Hardly a letter written in blood. Who has not said something in that vein after a poor refereeing performance? And if you’re getting a sense of deja-vu then that’s because when Chelsea were beaten by Barcelona in 2006 another Norwegian referee was apparently sent death-threats. The perfect cover-up for Platini. And let’s not forget the interview with Ovrebo before the game where he stated that even he was surprised by his appointment.
Then we look at the quotes from some of the people involved in the tie. Guus Hiddink, current Chelsea manager and undeniably intelligent man, said after the game, “There is an overall feeling of being robbed, an injustice.” He then went on to question why a referee officiating in the Norwegian League every week was suddenly appointed to a Champions League Semi-Final. A valid point you may feel. There was then the comments from Chelsea right-back Jose Bosingwa, which were very well covered up, in which he called the referee a “thief”. Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho described the events as “strange”. Any suggestions of a conspiracy were made as quiet as possible. And of course let’s not forget that Ovrebo was gagged by UEFA after the game so he could not explain his decisions.
There was also the fact that on the UEFA website before the game they had predicted a 1-1 draw with Barcelona grabbing a late equaliser and even correctly predicted the Chelsea players that would be shown yellow cards. The evidence is starting to mount up and become difficult to ignore isn’t it?
So why does Platini hate Chelsea? Why does he not want a team who have consistently and unquestionably been one of the best sides in Europe over the past few years to win the premier European competition? Platini knows the recognition and advantages that come with winning a European crown. Could it be that he does not want a club that has spent so much money on players to get that recognition? Let’s look back at Chelsea’s record in the Champions League since the arrival of big-money spending owner Roman Abramovich in 2003.
In 2004 Chelsea were beaten at the Semi-Final stage by Monaco due to poor management from Claudio Ranieri. No complaints there. Then Jose Mourinho arrived as manager and the general hatred for Chelsea Football Club really started to grow. In 2005 Chelsea had won the Premier League at a canter but were again beaten in the Semi-Finals by a very average Liverpool side who had finished 5th in the Premier League due to a goal being given which had come nowhere near crossing the line. In 2006 it was Barcelona’s turn to receive some good fortune at Chelsea’s expense as left-back Asier del Horno was sent-off for no good reason with Chelsea 1-0 up and cruising. This turned the tie and allowed Barcelona to run out winners. In 2007 it was again Liverpool, again in the semi-finals, who progressed past the Blues, with Liverpool again enjoying the distinct advantage of playing at home in the second leg. This time they won after a penalty shootout. And in 2008 it was another penalty shootout that got the better of the Londoners, this time in the final, as Manchester United went on to win. It is also important to remember that Chelsea were drawn against the winners of the previous season’s competition in the group stage three years in a row, surely something that could not have happened to any other club.
It is not important that you are someone who does not usually believe in conspiracy theories. It is simply important that you are a logical thinker. Because with all the evidence it would be difficult not to think that all is not as it seems. Chelsea are the most hated team in Europe. Platini knows that and therefore knows that not many people will defend them or be too bothered about them. However, it is important that football is not allowed to go the way of so many other sports and descend into farce with this kind of thing going on all the time. It is undeniable that something strange has been happening concerning Chelsea in the Champions League for some time and the Barcelona game was a step too far. It will be interesting to see how Chelsea react in next season’s campaign. Will they simply not bother and let the cheats win or will they be even more determined to win the trophy? It would be even more interesting to see them pull out of the competition altogether in protest. Maybe that would bring the issue up more. Or maybe it would just give UEFA what they want. The one thing that is clear is that someone needs to take a stand. Fact.
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1. rohan das, sydney australia
wrote...
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absolutelry true, this is so blatantly obvious that we bin cheated, |
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2. Richard J, London
wrote...
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the point of main concern is in those recent comments by Platini saying he is "seduced and in love with barcelona" the rest is pretty much standard biased against the best team - chelsea |
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3. Barcelona, Not too important!
wrote...
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This is all a bit silly... The ref was awful. That's it. People are allowed to like the way Barca play even if they are Platini. It's not like Barca aren't the best team in Europe. They proved they are last night.
Chelsea were hard done by but the conspiracy talk is getting a little stupid... |
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