Wenger’s Fury & Looking At What Lies Ahead

I think a lot of the ugliness around officiating in soccer is the complete lack of transparency and a lack of an effective review system, i.e. lack of justice, real and perceived. The ref makes a decision which is final and binding, with very little room for appeal or review, either during the game with the aid of linesmen and technology, or afterwards. If the ref sees something and makes a decision, that's it, decision binding. Governing bodies like UEFA probably want to keep that because they probably feel they're backing the ref that way.

But I think it has the opposite effect. It's exactly because of the lack of accountability and effective review that players and managers resort to other methods to influence the ref, all of which are ugly and unpleasant and not helping refs or players, or fans.

Give the refs the help of technology, get them to use their linesmen more, and allow for review of cards (or lack thereof) after the game, even if the ref saw the incident and dealt with it. Then enforce a strict respect rule with players getting a yellow card for so much as looking at the ref. I think everyone would accept that and we'll see a lot less of the ugly scenes of players getting in the ref's face, waving imaginary cards, simulation and diving, etc.

It's been said before, but soccer should look at other sports like rugby union and cricket. Yes, they're different games, but both make use of technology, there's a lot of communication between all the on-field officials, there's zero-tolerance for any dissent and hassling of the ref/umpire and by and large far less controversy over officiating, and definitely not the constant ugliness you see in football with players mobbing the ref, waving imaginary cards. Yes, I'm looking at you Cesc Fabregas and Gerard Pique!

Anyways, like Sairax says, let's beat ManU and move on to FA Cup glory.

Nothing wrong in what Wenger has stated here. He is 100% correct in that if we had 11 men for the match, odds are we would have registered a shot on goal somewhere in there, especially considering that there were signs of Barca letting up towards the last 20 there, which by the way is exactly how it played out in the first leg. Up on aggregated, all 11 men, Barca starting to show some signs of letting up/making mistakes...all ingredients of a the "better team" possibly still coming out on the losing end just like leg 1.

By the way, I'm backing Dudu and Shakhtar for the rest of the tournament (unless they get knocked out of course)

Eeeeedduardooooooo, eeeeeedduardoooooooo!

Great blog as per usual Sairax!

I've been reading this blog for the past year (I have been a Gooner since the Bergkamp days) but this is my first post.

Does anyone here think Chelsea has a chance? They are 9 points behind us with a game in hand, and if they win that they will be 6 behind.

Realistically, I don't think so. Not only would they have to go on a run that they haven't shown they're capable of, but they also need two teams to falter. I could see them having a shot if they were only chasing one team.
So for now, I'll just pull for them to get things rolling, and hopefully go to Old Trafford and give the home team a knot on their head.

Thank you mouseball! And thanks for reading. Hope to see you in the comments more often now :)

nothing annoys me more that all this frustrating political correctness and red tape, 'oh no you cant say that' 'you might upset the ref's mum' ..honestly.... its not as if anyone is publically swearing and setting a bad example to kids watching their heros on tv, like drogba swearing into the cameras, whatever wenger said to the ref in the tunnel wasnt broadcast, so who cares. UEFA seems to be run like some sort of dictatorship, they make the rules, you cant argue with them and theres no accountability or transparency. They can dish out arbitrary fines seemingless at will. You cant argue against bad decisions made on the pitch, but if you do, god forbid, express any passion or opinion that is contrary to uefas ruling, you get fined or banned. Its verging on sensorship.. sure, you can do/say anything you want, as long as it doesnt remotely challenge the supreme authority of this unappointed autonomous ruling body who, incidentally, never, EVER, admit that they are wrong. or apologise for messing up. Now thats a total disgrace, and if wenger wants to say something about it he fucking well can. your attitude of 'just calm down wenger, dont argue with them' just conforms with the attitude that uefa are untouchable

I dont disagree with Wenger's attitude. All in all, we had a RED, not them, and at that time the tie was not decided.

But I have moved on (I think..no wait, maybe, well, at least I think I have).

We need to turn the page not wothout looking at what happened. Our games arent easy and Liverpool isnt the same as a while ago. we have some rough fixtures away and two rough at home, so...there is a fight to be fought.

PS what is happening with Disqus?

To be fair, I never said Wenger was wrong. I just think he needs to let go of this. I poured my heart out to the man, give me a break lol

(btw, if you click on the link within the quote, it seems the ref may have sworn at Le Boss too)

Only 25 comments? Dear trolls, you are sucking the change from the Martin's pockets by not enflaming us with your shite. Please come back and post drivel about Stoke's fair play and Barca's perfection, so the Martin can afford snacks.

Here's how I see Wenger's quote. I bet he figures he is going to be sanctioned when he goes before the hearing, so want's to make it truly worthwhile and really have a go at UEFA.
And really, he is just saying what everyone really thinks of them anyways.

Well done Arsene.

Yeah, as my basketball coach used to tell us, "If you're going to get called for a foul anyway, might as well get your money's worth."

So if he's going to get a touchline ban anyway, he might as well get his money's worth and take the opportunity to tell them where they can go.

haha, my basketball coach used to tell us that too!

"Foul him and give up the free throws..if you hit him hard enough, you won't have to worry about him coming back the second time around"

That's the motto at Stoke, from what I'm told.

wouldn't it be great if we can clinch the tittle after we play United, fingers crossed

Thanks Sairax. I have been thinking about what Martin has been saying about not blaming the refs and then comparing his attitude with what Wegner does here. I think Martin's is a very good guideline but not an absolute principle. When an offside call is wrong; or when a ref mis-characterizes a tackle at game speed-- that is just part of the game and you just try to hire refs who get as much right at possible. A few bad calls going for or against the team is just part of the game. I honestly think an optical physicist could explain (especially with the ability to come back on side) that it is actually impossible for a human to 100% accurately see offsides at game speed. So it goes.

However, the Van Persie red card is something different than a bad call that anybody could get wrong and be proven so by slow motion replay. That is a decision about which I think virtually every professional ref (if loyalty to one's fellows were put aside) would say "I would not make that call." The flag was up, there was no pressure to make a snap decision. He when forced to interpret the "time wasting" rule made a decision we suspect would be out of step with both the intent of the rule and the vast majority of those paid to enforce the rules.

So my personal new rule is to never complain about calls in the "heat of the action". But in this one instance I will defend Wegner and the others who feel the particular call was something beyond merely not seeing what actually happened. He saw and made a decision I think he could rightly be told by his governing body was an incorrect interpretation of the rule. You do not time waste by kicking towards goal within 1.1 seconds of the whistle.

If you change to North American sports such as basketball or football, you will hear acknowledgments of such official errors in interpretation. That is very rare from FIFA or UEFA.

So please Mr. Wegner do not complain each time a tackle is not as beautiful as you would like football to look; but just this once, go ahead and take the moral high ground. You deserve it. Now I join Sairax in the "I'm done talking all things Barcelona" club and will attempt to find a Zen like serenity similar to that shown in the photo of Happy Jack.

I don't really disagree with this. Like I said, I've always said it was an absolutely dreadful decision.

I guess my only point would be that I don't really see what good taking "the moral high ground" in this manner is going to do. I can't see UEFA saying, "You know what, Arsene, you're right -- this ref is shit-canned and we'll revise how we handle officials and matches."

And again, just like in the Newcastle match, my real concern is that the team, the manager, and the fans are seizing upon one decision, albeit a very important decision, and ignoring the real underlying issues which were mainly at fault for us not getting the result we needed.

Fair enough Martin. I guess what I wanted to make clear is if Wegner wants to be righteous about officiating in any circumstances, this is the most defensible one. And yes I believe UEFA needs to hear outrage about that call. But the complaints to UEFA would be a lot more credible coming from "impartial" journalists rather than Gunner fans and coaches.

And yes this obsession with officiating really does distract from looking at the actual correctable problems which is what one would hope the management and team are truly focusing upon regardless of what they say publicly.

Spot on.

Martin I didn't get time to reply to your comments about being able to support over 10 teams in 10 different leagues. My solution to that is being self-employed and self-owned. I don't support any football team specifically just football is my passion, and I used that passion to make my living as well...Also having a DVR is the best thing Man ever invented for a footy fan!!!

On Arsenal I shall be in England to see them live when they hopefully play Liverpool next month( that is if the fixture list isn't rearranged)

Fair enough. As a frazzled, overworked attorney, I am green with envy.

As an underemployed politico, I am envious of you both.

I feel I have to speak up for Wenger here. His statement is, for once, unambiguous and says (mostly) the plain truth in a measured manner. Surely nobody here disagrees that 'A bit more humility would do Uefa some good'?

I understand that escalating this issue is not good for team focus, but then again, can somebody remind me why exactly everybody has to take shit from UEFA/FIFA? The net flow of cash seem to be the other way, no?

I'll go even further and say that I would be interested to see Wenger (and anybody else for that matter, the more the better) do some "civil disobedience" stunt and e.g. ignore the proceedings and/or punishment. Yes, I know that the consequences can be serious and this particular cause is not worth them, but I can't see any other way of really forcing the issue of UEFA's parasitic arrogance.

Yeah, to a degree there is nothing we can do. But to do nothing in response to such an egregious error would be doing everyone a disservice. Uefa / Fifa will obviously never see anything they do as wrong because they're a joke but it must be said.

I don't see the problem in Wenger's reponse. He was asked about it and has a right to respond angry. It's not like UEFA was right and has reacted appropriately. And it's not like Wenger is launching a huge anti-UEFA campaign. The man was wronged, he was asked about it, and he responed how anyone in his position would. How he responded was appropriate. To be honest, Wenger basically said what any well run organization does when it suffers a PR disaster - UEFA just doesn't get that.

Also, I'm getting tired of the whole "well it didn't go our way, let's look forward to next week" attitude that seems to be developing. Yes we need to move on but let's get fired up about being 0 for 2! We really could have beat Birmingham and Barca and we should be conducting ourselves with the confidence that shows it. It's late in the season and injuries and fatigue always show up here. We should be harboring a burning desire that gets us to the end.

"I guess Bendtner has a defective voodoo doll or something"....LOL, had me in splits for a long time. Loved the part where you talk about refocusing the energy on team rebuilding. The team basically needs to channel this anger into aggression and determination. That's what learning from loses is all about ain't it? As a team we should all say that we have had enough, we are at the bottom of the pit and its all upwards from here. Come on Arsenal !!!

While we're looking at the schedule and thinking about all the places we could mess it up, I bet United's fans are looking at their schedule and thinking the same thoughts. They haven't been world beaters in the league lately either.

I hope they are, Homey. I hope they are.

I disagree that ManU have an easier schedule. Here they are side by side (with the fixtures moved around), comparing the teams left:

Arsenal: --- --- --- ManU

Blackburn --- Blackburn
Blackpool --- Blackpool
Bolton --- Bolton
Fulham --- Fulham
West Brom --- West Ham
Liverpool --- Chelsea
Stoke --- Newcastle
Aston Villa --- Everton
Manchester United --- Arsenal
Tottenham ---

Seems pretty even to me.

Yes, fairly even. We have only 4 of 10 at home, while they have 5 of 9 at their place. But the key battle between the teams is out our place. So it evens out a fair bit. I'm just wondering if we can find a way whereby we can win the league with a tie in that game, and not absolutely have to win it. But we'll see.
Also, I'll not that it's kinda quiet in here when there aren't any trolls.

I am little surprised by the tabloidesque title of this particular post, since I watched the press conference and Arsene Wenger didn't seem to be furious. The topic of UEFA came up because he was asked.

In anycase I am glad we can move on. I am still pretty shocked that Van Persie is available. Seriously, how can a 4 week spell on the sidelines turn into 3 days? It's a present surprise indeed, that even after playing 55min in Barcelona, Van Persie didn't aggravate his injury.

I'd be curious to hear who people think is more important to the teams success. Is it Cesc or Van Persie? We have seen Chamack and Bendtner fill in for Van Persie quite well, but can we say the same for Cesc when he has been absent?

That Sunderland game was interesting for me because late on we were dominant - in and around their box all the time, creating chances. That was without Cesc. If we can replicate that, and our in-form striker gets on the end of chances, well then... game on! I just hope Wenger took note of the dramatic change when he made the subs and positional changes in that game, and sticks with it.

The headline makes more sense when you realize that I'm a total hack

Don't beat yourself up. A partial hack, I think.

hi guys. i'm a Bayern fan, but Arsenal has been my 2nd club for quite some time. These last couple of weeks have been heart breaking, but surely the boys can pull themselves together and go for the final 2 trophies (which should be easier, now that they're out of the CL)

Best of luck!

PS: It really pains me to see Wenger's face after each loss. Hope he wins something, anything, soon - the man more than deserves it

Thx man, I like Bayern and wouldnt mind cheering for you in the UCL now.

what about fans and players, dont they deserve it?

of course. i didn't mean to leave them out

well, i'm not sure about the players, actually

Well, his face pretty much looks like that after every win, too, to be fair.

the frown is still there, but at least he smiles