Chelsea stars Eidur Gudjohnsen and Frank Lampard were united in condemning referee Terje Hauge for sending off Asier Del Horno in the UEFA Champions League defeat to Barcelona.
The Premiership leaders were beaten 2-1 by the Catalan club after losing the services of their Spanish full back for a clumsy foul on Lionel Messi in the first half.
Midfield duo Gudjohnsen and Lampard were disappointed that the red card was produced for the challenge.
"For me, it's just a foul," Icelandic ace Gudjohnsen, who was extremely impressive in a midfield role, told Sky Sports. "They clash basically.
"Messi makes a meal of it and the referee buckles under pressure."
Lampard felt similarly about the incident and stressed any malice would have been out of character for the defender.
"I haven't seen Del Horno do any crazy tackles or anything since he's been here," said the England midfielder.
"I don't expect him to start in such a big game."
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I saw this in a movie about a bus that had to speed around a city, keeping its speed over 50, and if its speed changed, it would explode! I think it was called, "The Bus That Couldn't Slow Down."
Exactly.
Pot Kettle Black.
Where was their condemnation on Robben?
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I saw this in a movie about a bus that had to speed around a city, keeping its speed over 50, and if its speed changed, it would explode! I think it was called, "The Bus That Couldn't Slow Down."
Don't forget the other challenge on Messi (I think that was Del Horno too) where Messi got hit with studs just above the knee. That tackle went totally unpunished. My guess is that the Chelsea players were under instructions to rough Messi up a bit and it's just gamesmanship of the highest order now that the Chelsea camp are now coming out and complaining about the "antics" of the Barcelona players. They're obviously trying to stir things up for the second leg.
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I saw this in a movie about a bus that had to speed around a city, keeping its speed over 50, and if its speed changed, it would explode! I think it was called, "The Bus That Couldn't Slow Down."
I wonder if Deco had been the one who got del Horno sent off instead of Messi, would Mourinho have gone after him the same way? That surely would have been high comedy.
Chelsea Stars Condemn Messi
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