Refs and others

I have attached the Roma Chelsea highlights above. If you don't like them you can go look for your own or pay for TV. Keep an eye out for Vucinic. His goals last night were both of top quality.

However the night was soured by the sending off of Deco. I have seen some truly horrific decisions by referees (including a goal given when a goal kick was appropriate), but last night the decision was simply wrong. Deco who was already on a yellow, took a freekick quickly which released a teammate on the right flank. The referee trying to look like he fit in the cool crowd then pulls out a yellow and sends Deco off. For what? A genuine piece of creativity and invention. That is just criminal to say the least. Even if he had warned Deco to wait prior to taking the kick, was a yellow necessary? It's not like anyone was harmed or a serious foul occurred. This sort of performance from refs make the Respect campaign look utterly ridiculous. Or in less formal jargon, retarded. I know the Respect campaign is only ongoing in the Premiership and doesn't apply to Europe but there have been some truly bad decisions being made week in and out in the Premiership and Europe. Poor refs in European football aren't going to help the reputations of refs in general either. Sure refs make mistakes but there was no excuse for any mistake or misjudgment in this case. Taking a freekick early is not a yellow card offense in any part of the world. Ok maybe if the player constantly ignores the ref's orders to wait five times in a row then that's asking for it. Deco was not guilty of that particular offense. The fact that he was sent off as a result of his creative genius is even more difficult to fathom. If you're going to give an inexplicable yellow, at least make sure the person receiving it is not already booked. It just makes the stupid decision twice as bad.

Moving on to less retarded matters, I am going to comment on Dimitar Berbatov. Yes I'm biased but I can't help it. The guy looks like he is settling in and is displaying his wide array of skills, tricks and flicks. Pure class. Have a look at his assist for Ronaldo's goal below.


Stunning. That's all I can say. My jaw doesn't usually drop a lot when it comes to football but that took my breath away. He looks more comfortable in the side and is beginning to show why he commanded such a high price. He's been getting goals as well as his fair share of assists, not to mention the various tricks and skills he pulls off in matches. His first touch is first class and I think his form can only get better as he still isn't at his best. Scary. The only downside to his brilliance is that Tevez has been benched a lot. Hopefully Fergie will find a way to keep him happy because I would not be pleased if he left.