The most powerful man on the court is the referee

8th March 2011
Nou Camp, Barcelona

Being an Arsenal supporter waiting anxiously for this game to start seemed like a life time. Holding a narrow 2-1 agg, a rational football fan will know there is still everything to play for especially if its against FC Barcelona, said by many as the best team ever assemble in football. With the likes of Messi, Xavi, Villa, Inniesta, Pedro and the list goes on it seems like a uphill task for the Gunners to actually go on defensive mode for the whole 90 minutes. Somthing was just not right in this match.

The game kicked off. What is going to happen in the next 90 mintues is actually going to hurt me for the rest of the week or maybe months. Arsenal the best team in keeping possesion in the Premier League could not even register more than 5 proper passes before they lost the ball. 45 mins gone and we look like we were capable of holding on. Not till the vision of Inniesta and the magic of Messi put Barcelona up in front in injury time of first half.

With a bit of luck, the Gunners manage to hit one back from an own goal from the Barcelona center back. When the game seemed to be balance and for ones going Arsenal's way then this happened:

A 2nd yellow card for Robin Van Persie that many argued spoiled the game. The rest that happen after that was history. Xavi added the 2nd and Messi scored the 3rd through a penalty. And to rub more salt into my wounds, my beloved team didnt even have a shot. A shot! Not a shot on target. They didnt had a shot!

What I really learnt from the game is that at the end of the day the ultimate power still lies in the hands of the referees. In any sport you play it is similar. Robin Van Persie may argue he didnt hear the whistle but nothing is going to change the referees mind. The most important person in the court, ring or field at the end of the day is the man holding the whistle. He can change the outcome of the game with a single blow.

Will Arsenal have qualified if that decision was never made? We will never find out. But somehow i believe we could hold on to that 1-1 draw and make it to the last 8. =)