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#68530 05/18/06 11:04 AM
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HENRY FUMES AT POOR OFFICIATING

Arsenal striker Thierry Henry accused referee Terje Hauge of favouring Barcelona after the Gunners lost the Champions League final 2-1 to the Primera Liga side.

An emotional Henry claimed the official ignored a series of challenges on him and insisted Arsenal had "made ourselves proud".

He told Sky Sports 1: "I don't know if the referee had a Barcelona shirt on because they kicked me all over the place.

"Maybe next time I'll learn how to dive. I expect the referee to do his job but I don't think he did."

Henry said: "Henrik Larsson was the difference but I didn't see Ronaldinho and I didn't see Eto'o.

"So many times (Carles) Puyol should have got a yellow card, so many times (Rafael) Marquez came from behind to take my ankles.

"We made ourselves proud."

Arsenal midfielder Freddie Ljungberg said on ITV1: "They had a lot of possession but we were leading until the 76th minute. We could have won it, this is hard for us.

"They are a great side but I felt we controlled it quite well; unfortunately they got the goals."

Henry added on ITV1: "I've been told that the first goal (by Eto'o) was offside. They are already a good team, so if you help them, it is going to be very difficult to beat them."

The Frenchman had a chance to finish Barca off when Alexander Hleb played him in but his low shot was easily saved by Victor Valdes.

"I had nothing in my legs, nothing whatsoever," he said.

"No disrespect to Barcelona, I feel we played better than them when it was 11 against 11.

"We can be proud, we can be more than proud but I'm sorry, some of the refereeing today was horrendous."

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger admitted he will now try to convince Henry that his future is at the club.

"I do not know how difficult it will be [to keep Henry] but we will try to do it. It is not in my hands. It is Thierry's hands."

He added on Sky Sports 1: "I felt we played a great game and gave everything. We had a few chances in the last 20 minutes but it was difficult.

"I also felt their first goal was offside."

Asked how much the referee influenced the match, Wenger added: "A lot. We have lost it and it is difficult to take. This team have been fantastic today and right through the European season.

"I knew we could hang on and I knew nerves would play a part in their game. They did not look especially dangerous.

"But we will do it again and I believe the team is growing a lot after this season.

"We have plenty of good young players who have contributed a lot.

"This team are strong. Sometimes you can come back even stronger."

Lehmann understood the referee's decision to send him off rather than letting play unfold.

"He could have given advantage to Barcelona but the referee had to make a very quick decision and it is difficult for refs to make the right decisions," the German said.

"It was fantastic (watching from the bench) until the first goal of Barcelona. We've done very well and fought fantastically, it was a great achievement from the team to play 10 against 11 against a good side.

"But unfortunately I think their first goal was offside. We had a referee in the final who makes two decisions against us."

Asked whether a referee who operates weekly in the Norwegian league should be officiating the Champions League final, Lehmann told Sky Sports: "We have lost and it's over but everybody has to learn out of everything.

"Barcelona have the capability to play quickly, so we should have taken a guy who is used to this pace."

Lehmann added on German TV station Sat 1: "You don't play in those kind of games very often and to have an ending like this is very tragic. It feels tough.

"In football you make mistakes and then you get punished for them. We played great with 10 men and it is a pity that it did not go well for me.

"What really makes me sad it that the equaliser was an offside goal. If the referee had been a bit more alert, we would have maybe won 1-0.

"I expected him to send me off but I immediately thought it was not all over as we could have won the game with 10 men.

"I cannot look ahead (to the World Cup) right now. Now is the time to be sad."

Ashley Cole was more philosophical in defeat than some of his team-mates, and told Sky Sports: "We lost the game but it's not worth moaning about the offside, it's finished, we have to get on with it. The lads deserve credit, they've chipped in and done well as a team."

England team-mate Campbell, whose goal looked set to be the winner until the final 14 minutes, said: "Losing Jens so early on is going to cause problems but we battled well.

"A few decisions went against us but you just have to keep going. We've done well this season, it's a shame we couldn't just finish off the game.

"We passed the ball well, they're a great team and passed it around well too but we had a couple of chances where if it goes our way they're dead and buried."

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#68531 05/18/06 11:38 AM
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Those of you who know me know I'm an Arsenal man through and through. It's not the excruciating nature of the loss that is so disappointing, however. Barcelona is a fantastic team, I’d told my team all year they were the best team in Europe, and had they been playing anyone besides Arsenal I would have been pulling for them. What I find to be so disappointing is that Lehmann was sent off. I say this not because I think that would have made the difference (we'll never know) but because this final had all the potential to be a real barn-burner. We had two, very attacking-minded sides that were really going to go at it, back and forth for 90 minutes. Instead, sending Lehmann off, the first red card ever in a champions league final, effectively killed the game. After that, it was like watching the attack on the Alamo. Seems to me advantage should have been played allowing the Barca goal, and then giving Lehmann a yellow card, would have been the right call. Although I have to admit that as soon as it happened I said Lehmann had to be gone. Even the referee has now admitted he shouldn’t have ejected Lehmann. Oh well. I guess if I were a Tottenham fan I’d suggest the game be played over!

#68532 05/18/06 12:56 PM
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Nobody on this thread has given credit to Henrik Larsson, a late substitute who set up both Barca goals.

Thierry Henry knew it:

Henry said: "Henrik Larsson was the difference but I didn't see Ronaldinho and I didn't see Eto'o.

It was a very exciting game. Unbelievable that 10-man Arsenal got the first goal.

#68533 05/18/06 01:23 PM
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I am a referee and the biggest shame is this game was about a lot of "What if's" because of the referee's decisions. Once he blew the whistle he had absolutely no choice but to give a red card on the keeper. Obvious Goal Scoring Opportunity. BUT, where is the advantage call when you need it. Should have been 1-0 Barca with all 22 on the field.

Then, Henry wants to talk about dives to the newspapers, the Arsenal goal came off of an absolute dive that was sooooo easy to see.

Lastly, the yellow card against Henry was harsh. Tough to say that was even a foul. Maybe in U-14 rec but not in a UEFA final. That had to force him to play differently with 30 minutes to play.

#68534 05/18/06 03:39 PM
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I agree with MP that Eboue's dive that led to the Arsenal goal was a disgrace, and even more disgraceful was Balboa's sanction of that type of thing.
It seems a pattern for Wenger and Henry to whine about the refs. Firstly, Henry had 2 chances, one in the first 2 minutes and one in the second half when he was clean through, to have won the Cup.
His yellow was harsh when you look at the incident in slow motion, but when I saw it at first in real time it looked pretty nasty and that's what the ref reacted to.
Arsenal can't complain about the decisions going against them. Eboue committed enough fouls to have been sent off twice. If he had been carded when he made that disgusting dive to get their goal, as he should have, they would have been down to 9 men. He committed 2 more fouls later that deserved yellows and he didn't get them, so they can't complain about the refs being against them.
What would have been a travesty would be for Arsenal to have won it by that one goal off the free kick. Barca were the better team.

#68535 05/19/06 04:26 AM
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How about how Marcello was on a strict "don't comment unless asked to policy"

God I hate him. That was great.

#68536 05/18/06 05:16 PM
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By Chris Harris

It was only a matter of time before Arsène Wenger was asked about Thierry Henry's future at his pre-match press conference and, sure enough, just a few questions had come and gone before the subject of Arsenal's captain cropped up.

Henry was a constant menace to Barcelona's defence in Paris but, just when you thought the French striker was going to get his hands on the European Cup, two quickfire goals shattered his and Arsenal's dreams.

Now Wenger, not to mention Arsenal's fans, will wait for Henry to confirm whether he is staying to lead Arsenal at Emirates Stadium or whether Wednesday's night showpiece was his swansong for the Club.

Henry will announce his intentions before the World Cup starts on June 9, but Wenger intends to speak to his captain before the deadline. After all, the Frenchman's plans for next season will be dictated by his captain's decision.

"I will try to talk to him because we have to prepare the season," said Wenger after the 2-1 defeat against Barcelona.

"We have many young players in this team, it is progressing and it has a big, big future, but we need Thierry Henry to achieve that because he is such an influence to our side.

"He can help them to quickly become a big force in the world. He said he would [decide] before the World Cup so there is not long to wait now."

#68537 05/18/06 06:14 PM
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Both teams had/have reason to lament about the call on Lehman's foul. Barcelona lost a goal and Arsenal lost two starters and was forced to play with ten. Give some credit to the ref for his statements today that he should have delayed his whistle a bit to allow the goal. I think Henry had reason to complain about the treatment he received on the back of the legs by the Barca defenders but nobody can deny their equalizer. From where I sat, Eto'o was on.
I'm an Arsenal man myself but I've got to tip my had to Barca. They deserve the title but I would love to see a rematch... 11 v 11.

#68538 05/18/06 07:26 PM
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Granted I couldn't understand much of the game (as it was entirely in French), but at least the visual doesn't change across countries.
I was very disappointed with Ronaldinho. 3 or 4 free kicks and not a single on goal. And then I was disappointed in Barca in the last 10 or so minutes where they just started playing keep away. Horrible. Definitely not Joga Bonito.
No comments one way or the other as far as the officiating.

#68539 05/18/06 07:27 PM
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i guess we could give a cup for biggest whiners, cpmlainers, and cry babies, i think arsenal could win this one easily, even with a man down!!!

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