"Dommeren er købt"

There has already been much talk about last night's Norwegian referee, Mr. Henning Ovrebo, and I must add some thinking myself: I think that it was a pity and bad luck for Chelsea that they didn't win, but I preferred Barcelona. At the same time, I think that the referee was incredibly bad for both teams, but of course, it was more felt by Chelsea, who should have had two penalties called (and not six like some people are saying!).
Bad refereeing is unfortunately not an unseen phenomenon, and in particular not regarding Mr. Ovrebo, who in the Euro 2008 made such a poor performance on the Italy-Romania match, that he was not given any more matches in that tournament...
Need I say more...?

In the many years I have been a football-fan, I have always had a problem with referees. I have always found it suspicious that the apparently impartial guys in black have such an important role in the outcome of the matches, and at the same time there is so little on the part of the referees themselves in trying to improve their own position (for instance, referees are notably against using technological aids to improve refereeing). Also, I have always found it suspicious that referees who are consistently bad, are rewarded again and again by getting more and more big matches, just like happened with Mr. Ovrebo, or has even happened with the infamous Danish referee Jens Larsen.
Many friends of mine, have always made fun of me of when I have insinuated "partisanship" by referees. Because of this, I find it quite amusing that so many people (including Danish TV3 commentator Preben Elkjær and Chelsea player Bosingwa) now have few quarrels in insinuating corruption by Mr. Ovrebo in last night's Champions League semifinal.
Most referees are good and do their best, and very few are corrupt, but some are incompetent, what I personally just think Mr. Ovrebo is. But at the same time, I would be very careful about totally dismissing the possiblity of foul play. Unfortunately, it has been seen at top level in Europe in many instances:

• In 1984 Anderlecht (with three Danish players) defeated Nottingham Forest in a scandalous match in the semifinal of the UEFA Cup. The referee had been paid off by an Anderlecht official, something that only came to light 13 years later.
• In the 2006 Italian football scandal where Juventus was forcefully relegated, many referees, among them Italy's referee representative for the 2006 world cup, were found to be involved.
• In 2005, a match fixing scandal erupted in Germany, where the referee Robert Hoyzer, admitted to having fixed a number of matches, notably a cup match between Hamburger SV and Paderborn, where the former, leading 2-0, had its best striker red-carded and two doubtful penalties against them, made them lose the match 2-4. The scandal had connections to gambling.
• In the 1994 VA-OM scandal, where Olympique Marseille were forcefully relegated, it was proved that players had been bought. Nothing was directly proved about referees, but the extent of Olympique Marseille's corruption and match-fixing was enormous.
• In 1995, Dynamo Kiev was suspended from the Champions League after approaching a referee in trying to bribe him.

This is just what is known, and what I can immediately think of.
I can also think of a number of matches I have seen throughout my life where, looking at the broader picture, I suspect foul play; this includes a number of World Cup and European club matches.
While I think it happens more often than we think, I don't believe there is a wider conspiracy deciding the outcomes of the leagues, but rather, I think it happens on match-by-match basis, but I also believe that UEFA and the national football associations are not to keen to study the incidences too much, in order not to bring the game into disrepute. Whatever is done, is done quietly, and only selected few instances get out.
But finally, I do think it is naive to believe that in a sport that moves millions and millions of Euros, it is bound not to happen! Fortunately, I do believe it is the exception rather than the rule.

The consistently bad referees

Two great matches, with four great teams, and two consistently bad referees.
In the match between Manchester United and Arsenal, it didn't matter that much, because Manchester were truly the best team in their 3-1 victory, but Darren Fletcher's red card was only the major among many mistakes of the Italian referee.

In the Chelsea-Barcelona match the problem was bigger. Not that 1-1 is an unfair result overall (I was hoping and still happy that Barcelona progressed to the next round), but the problem is that any football fan is left with a bad taste when the referee in such a way takes all the headlines. And in spite of the penalties the Norwegian gentleman didn't call, the calls also went against Barcelona, as the red card to Abidal was totally out of place (here one must add that Drogba's and Anelka's diving and acting probably didn't help, although a good referee should manage to see through that). So the frustration of the Chelsea players and in particular the Chelsea fans is understandable: today they were the better team! They simply played excellently, disciplined and tactically great - the mistakes is that they should have scored on the chances they had, and when you don't, you lose.
But what an amazing srike by Michael Essien!
On a final note, I would also like to congratulate Barcelona. I have long admired how they have played this season, and in spite of the fact that Chelsea was the better team, Barcelona showed character today, as they kept fighting and playing even when all the odds seemed against them; I didn't think the Barcelona team would have such character (I thought they were a bunch of pretty boys playing on humour), but they did, and now we can really look forward to the final in Rome of the two best teams overall in this season's Champions League.

Outstanding Barcelona

I had never thought that Barcelona would win against Real Madrid like this: 2-6 in Madrid is a score of historic proportions for the two rivals, and I have no doubt that this current Barcelona team is likely to become the best in the history of the Catalonian giants. They were simply outstanding!
At the same time, Real Madrid, who had otherwise won many victories and put pressure on Barcelona, proved to be a disappointment, and the next month or so will likely become a period of self-reflection. The merengues have had a hugely disappointing season, have suffered some humilliating defeats to Liverpool and Barcelona, and it seems that they are no longer among the European top.

Barcelona is one step from the Spanish title, will soon be playing the Spanish cup final, and remains an important candidate for the Champions League title. Nevertheless, the latter will prove much more difficult when they face Chelsea on Wednesday in London; Chelsea will be much better organised and disciplined, and with their home support, will surely be difficult for Barcelona (and I think Chelsea is a slight favourite). But Barcelona proved today that they are a truly amazing team, and if anyone has a chance of pulling a good result at Stamford Bridge, it is this Barcelona dream team!

Football and swine flu

The panic that is gripping the world as we face a global swine-flu pandemic has hit football! (I guess we cannot remain an island from the rest of society, as much as all football fans would love to).
In a match in the Copa Libertadores between the Mexican side Chivas and the Chilean side Everton, a Mexican player snotted and spit on on a Chilean player, while saying he would pass him the swine-flu (check it out: http://www.marca.com/2009/05/01/futbol/futbol_internacional/1241159445.html - it is really disgusting)

Don't you just miss the days when players would just get into a good old fight...?

Danish Cup final in Copenhagen

This week Aalborg B qualified for the Danish Cup final, where the northern Juts will be facing FC Copenhagen. FC Copenhagen is Denmark's richest and strongest club, effectively in the way of making Denmark a one-club country.
The Danish cup final is always played in Parken, Denmark's national stadium, which, incidentally, is also the home-turf of FC Copenhagen. This will undoubtfully give the Copenhagen side another added advantage in the cup final, which Allan Kuhn (AaB's reserve coach) has also been out criticizing. Just because of this, the cup is already close to being in the hands of FC Copenhagen.

I find it a pity that they don't do a variation of venues for the final each year, kind of like they do with the UEFA Cup or the champions league. The Danish Cup final is only a Danish event, but it should belong to the entire country, not only to Copenhagen, and I think there would be many potential venues for a final, like Odense, Århus, Herning, Brøndby, and yes, even Aalborg.