Phillip

I am assuming "soft blow to the whistle" means that he does not blow the whistle for anything except clear-cut calls, and even then perhaps not. Well, Messieta was certainly prescient on that one.

I guess I can lie and say, upon re-review of those plays, I saw 4 definite penalities, but I did not,, as I saw only 2 definite penalties. Loz agrees that the Ballack-to-Eto'o one was not a penalty, and so at least I have back-up on that one (see also Virosh's post). For the Drogba one, yes Abidal held his shirt, but Drogba makes such a meal of those situations, and many more times than not a foul is not called in such situations, that I just don't think it was a definite penalty. Malouda foul - Yes, in the box. Pique - Yes, definite intent to handle the ball.

Yes, totally agree, Coco. I saw two clear penalities, and the others were marginal, in my opinion. How could both the linesman and the referee miss Pique's handball?

Well, I am going to watch a replay of all of our penalty shouts now, with an objective mind, and I will let you know what I think. I had only thought we had two good shouts when I saw the game in real time, but maybe I will change my thinking after reviewing the replay of those opportunities.

Well, there was a big NBA scandal last year, with a referee found guilty of taking bribes to fix games. No reason why it could not occur in a CL game.

No scousers live in Manassas, Virgina. A lot of good old southern boys, but they are far removed from scousers. Don't get me wrong, I am upset, but I am also realistic that no referee is going to call that many penalities in a game. We deserved two penalites, with one other close call that needed a linesman to confirm (which did not happen), and that should have been enough to advance.

I think he inherently agreed with that there were penalties that were not called, given the way he worded his message.

OK, I'll pipe down. It will probably hit me in an opposite way as everyone here, with me getting madder and madder as time goes on, as opposed to everyone here who is very mad now, and will calm down as time goes on.

Kee, I hate to say it, but what you said makes sense to me. Perhaps we had a second clear cut penalty, but I would not go beyond that. We just missed too many easy chances to put this game beyond reach, and when you do that, these kinds of things happen. The ref was bad, but to me, Ballack's penalty appeal was ludicrous, since the ball was kicked straight at the Barca player, and it did not hit his arm but rather his upper torso. Drogba should have scored two goals, and he did not, so we are left with this bitter feeling again.

You have to blame the linesman on that side too, since they should have seen those infractions, especially the one where Pique stuck his hand out.

I can't and won't say that. Barca did not ref the game, so I am not faulting them for those non-calls. I will root for Barca against ManU. In my opinion, we had two good penalty calls, and if Drogba would not fall down at the slightest touch, he might have actually kicked the ball into the net on one of those occasions. They were killing us on the right flank, and it seems unfair that they scored with a movement down the left flank. Tough one to lose.

I am with you on this one. I won't like it, but I can handle a loss today to Barca. Probably that is why I am not nervous at all. Go You Blues!

I was just on Barcaforum. Nice blokes on that forum.

We certainly have an advantage in the air, and I would hope that we at least try to use that advantage tomorrow.

Whaaaaa ... I did not ship out anywhere.

Nah, I wanted Arsenal to win, since we would have been guaranteed the CL trophy if we make it past Barca. Now, even if we make it past Barca, it is 50-50 in the final.

I hate to say it, but Park is starting to grow on me. I actually like him as a player now, and his non-stop running is something that any team can use. It seems like ManU really has not gotten a bad player in the last few years. I was hoping for them to get another Djemba-Djemba or Tiabbi, but those seem to be the days of old.

Seems like I am wrong on this one, again. Can't you get a penalty for what happens after the first touch of the ball? In this case, assuming Fletcher did get the ball first, he did make strong contact with Fabregas after doing that, and shouldn't that merit a penalty?

So, basically, I can get the ball first, and then practically kill you with my legs and body by plowing right through you?? That just does not seem right to me.

So, let me get this straight. If you come from behind a person with the ball, go right through him and happen to touch the ball, it is not a foul? Are you crazy or what? That was a clear penalty!

Malouda takes better corners. Malouda takes better throw-ins (I know, nobody seems to care about this skill).

Your right. The Fulham game today got me confused. Did Ray Hudson play in the Scottish League or the Premier League back in the day?

Malouda is a better crosser of the ball, don't you think?

Roy Hodgson, a Scotsman (are you listening, BB and Loz?) and a royal pain in the ass. He coached DC United for a few years, and I was certain he was going to drop dead of a coronary on the sidelines. I have never seen anyone turn so red in my life (well, sometimes Sir Alex Rednose comes close).

Boy, and I glad we got rid of Lassana Diarra, he is terrible. Also, that tall German defender, Merkeselder (?), is a good player, but totally unsuited to play in La Liga.