Comments on: Le Moan

By: My name is not important

My name is not important — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

To be fair, if Hauge had allowed the Barca goal, he couldn’t have sent off Lehmann, only booked him (at least, according to Danish referee Kim Milton Nielsen) making it a totally different match alltogether.

By: Calum Benson

Calum Benson — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve heard others say that if the goal had stood he shouldn’t have been sent off too, but I’m not entirely convinced. Even though the ball ended up in the net, it doesn’t really change the fact that Lehmann prevented *a* clear goalscoring opportunity… the fact that there was another one straight afterwards is kind of irrelevant IMHO

Still, it’s all about opinions, and there’s no doubt it would have been a better game with a full complement of players on the pitch.

By: My name is not important

My name is not important — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I can't seem to find anything at all in the FIFA rules saying that a previous offence should be "downgraded" if the play has been allowed to continue, but I suspect it's probably part of those referee guidelines that they like to put out all the time, saying something to that effect. I'm going to accept a(n) (as of a few days ago) former FIFA referee telling me otherwise.

Sending-off offences are outlined on page 38, and the referees authority to let the game continue is on page 22 of the Laws Of The Game, which can be found here: http://www.fifa.com/documents/static/regulations/Q&A2005_E.pdf

I found another amusing gem though: "If a direct free kick is kicked directly into the team’s own goal, a corner kick is awarded to the opposing team." Who knew!

By: My name is not important

My name is not important — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Brought to you by the department of being bored out of my skull.

By: Calum Benson

Calum Benson — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Heh, that’s bizarre… I knew your opponents got a corner if you threw the ball directly into your own goal from a throw-in, but from a direct free kick? Why would that not just count as an own goal?! Weird…

By: Paul McGarry

Paul McGarry — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Hi Calum,

I am a GNOME user who sees your blog on Planet GNOME but am also a Sydney FC and Arsenal supporter so your last two posts have unexpected value.

From a Sydney FC point of view we are looking forward to see what Butcher will do for us as a manager. We lost (or rather didn't re-sign) Pierre Littbarski in a rather messy fashion so are pleased just to have the position sorted out as our season approaches but Butcher seems credible and has already built a bit of a rapport with supporters.

In terms of the Arsenal Barca game I think the general level of officiating was poor. I think it was poor for both teams, though he did seem a bit more inclined to blow up for "fouls" by Arsenal players.

In terms of the Lehmann sending off I think it was acceptable under the laws but I think the referee should have used his discretion to play advantage (indeed UEFA referees decided that a "probable immediate goal scoring opportunity" is one of the few areas where advantage is appropriate).

With a goal scored I don't think Lehmann would be up for an automatic red as an "obvious goal scoring opportunity" clearly hasn't been denied by the foul if a goal is immediatly scored. Of course the referee could still elect to give a red card if he thought the foul deserved it on it's own merits rather than because of a FIFA dictat.

That's all rather moot though. I think the referees choice at that moment was legitimate if not the best option and while it changed the game I don't think it ruined it as some have said, the next 70-80 or so minutes were still very engaging if not quite what we were expecting before the game.