2013 UEFA Champions League

[d_phaneuf]

unless Gareth Bale has an indestructible ankle ligament

he's out for awhile

that was ugly

[d_phaneuf]

Lennon had to leave the game too in the 1st half

so no wingers for the rest of the season

good times...

[cam_wmh]

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

Lennon had to leave the game too in the 1st half

so no wingers for the rest of the season

good times...

It's so predictable in London. Chelsea hitting form finally. Arsenal sees the return of Walcott & Wilshere....

And Totts with a late season bad luck faultering on the horizon.

[moon]

Terrible play on the field against lesser team, injuries to two (possibly) best players this year. Seems sounds about right for late season Spurs.

[arsenal]

Seems like reports coming out of WHL are that Bale's ankle injury isn't too bad and he should be back in the lineup again City in a few weeks.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22036075

But Villas-Boas said: "It shouldn't be as bad as it looks on the image.
"There is a big, big possibility if we stay positive that he will be fit for the Man City game [on April 21] and it will only take him out of two games."

[d_phaneuf]

ya I saw that after the game

should know for sure with the scan tomorrow, looked bad though, some ex-players on twitter said they did that before and it was usually 4-6 weeks

[Bagor]

Got a question on an observation from the start of one of this weeks CL games.

Game about to start. Kid comes out with match ball. Presents it to ref who then writes on it.

What's that all about? Official match balls and the ref marks it to ensure the same ball in use all the game?

[Locke]

Barca whining about the refereeing:

Barcelona were dismayed with the performance of official Wolfgang Stark, believing the German made questionable decisions regarding a number of incidents.

http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/14...2-draw?cc=5901

Stark is one of the top refs in Europe. I will say though, isnt it surprising having a German ref when a German team is playing? I didnt think they allowed that.

[Bagor]

Originally Posted by Locke

Stark is one of the top refs in Europe. I will say though, isnt it surprising having a German ref when a German team is playing? I didnt think they allowed that.

On what exactly do you base your statement that he is one of the top refs in Europe? A quick look at his wiki page suggests a career littered with missed/mis calls, errors in judgement, and absolutely riddled with controversy.

He doesn't even seem respected in Germany by the people who matter most.

In the 2010-11 season of the German Bundesliga he was elected worst referee of the first half of the season by the players

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Stark

And I don't get your point regarding a German ref in charge of a Spanish/French game.

However ..... in fairness to him Barca are wrong on the first point. He didn't have to stop the game when the two Barca players were down if he felt they didn't need immediate attention.
They are correct however in their assertion that he contravened the rules and was wrong to make them leave the field.

Players who are injured are required to leave the field under either of two conditions: The referee has stopped play due solely to the occurrence of a serious injury or the referee signals approval for anyone (team official, medical personnel, etc.) to enter the field to attend to an injury (regardless of whether that person enters to assist or not and regardless of why play was stopped). Goalkeepers are exempt from this requirement, along with any field player who may also have been injured as a result of a collision with the goalkeeper, as well as teammates who collide.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Bagor

On what exactly do you base your statement that he is one of the top refs in Europe? A quick look at his wiki page suggests a career littered with missed/mis calls, errors in judgement, and absolutely riddled with controversy.

He doesn't even seem respected in Germany by the people who matter most.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Stark

And I don't get your point regarding a German ref in charge of a Spanish/French game.

However ..... in fairness to him Barca are wrong on the first point. He didn't have to stop the game when the two Barca players were down if he felt they didn't need immediate attention.
They are correct however in their assertion that he contravened the rules and was wrong to make them leave the field.

Players who are injured are required to leave the field under either of two conditions: The referee has stopped play due solely to the occurrence of a serious injury or the referee signals approval for anyone (team official, medical personnel, etc.) to enter the field to attend to an injury (regardless of whether that person enters to assist or not and regardless of why play was stopped). Goalkeepers are exempt from this requirement, along with any field player who may also have been injured as a result of a collision with the goalkeeper, as well as teammates who collide.

http://worldreferee.com/site/referees.php?y=&b=101

Ranked as the 10th best ref in the world.

[Bagor]

Originally Posted by Locke

http://worldreferee.com/site/referees.php?y=&b=101

Ranked as the 10th best ref in the world.

Yup .... by some website.
And ranked the worst in Germany as voted by the players 2 years ago.

As I said, his career has been riddled with controversy and complaints.

And this latest incident and complaint demonstrates that he doesn't even know the rules of the game.

But you carry on claiming he's a top ref. After all he's German therefore he must be ...... Just ignore that his resume is a complete gong show!

And what the hell are you rambling about regarding a German refereeing a Spanish/French club game?

Oh .... and BTW thank you for (from that website) finally admitting that Howard Webb is an elite referee after years of ranting against him.

[M*A*S*H 4077]

Bayern wins the Bundesliga with 6 games remaining. Schweinsteiger scored a beautiful goal

[d_phaneuf]

Stark gets a ton of big games, he's basically the Webb of Germany

[Bagor]

What big games has he got compared to Webb in Europe and globally?

I don't even think he's reffed a CL semi?

The biggest game of his career was here in Canada in that U20 semi where he was by far the centre of attention as he completely lost the plot with the event finishing in a riot.

All I'm saying is this. He might get big games at home but that doesn't translate into him being one of the best in Europe, far from it. As mentioned he does nothing but invite complaint and controversy.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

Stark gets a ton of big games, he's basically the Webb of Germany

Thats a pretty apt description.

Originally Posted by Bagor

What big games has he got compared to Webb in Europe and globally?

I don't even think he's reffed a CL semi?

The biggest game of his career was here in Canada in that U20 semi where he was by far the centre of attention as he completely lost the plot with the event finishing in a riot.

All I'm saying is this. He might get big games at home but that doesn't translate into him being one of the best in Europe, far from it. As mentioned he does nothing but invite complaint and controversy.

The same could be said of any high-end ref. Thats why they are where they are. What 'big game' referees have no history of any controversy?

[Bagor]

He IS NOT a high end ref. Maybe in Germany but not at an international club and country level. He lost the plot in the biggest game of his career and caused a riot.

That is reflected in that as far as he gets is a last 16 game.

If he's one of the top refs in Europe why doesn't he get the top games then? Webb does.

[d_phaneuf]

Ya I meant in the German league, I don't watch as much Bendesliga as I would like (100% Gol tv looking worse than most streams being the cause of that) but when I do gets a ton of big matches

he is one of 3 refs from Germany in the UEFA elite group for this year

Martin Atkinson (ENG), Olegário Benquerenca (POR), Felix Brych (GER), Cüneyt Çakir (TUR), Mark Clattenburg (ENG), William Collum (SCO), Jonas Eriksson (SWE), Viktor Kassai (HUN), Björn Kuipers (NED), Stéphane Lannoy (FRA), Florian Meyer (GER), Svein Oddvar Moen (NOR), Pedro Proenca (POR), Nicola Rizzoli (ITA), Gianluca Rocchi (ITA), Damir Skomina (SVN), Wolfgang Stark (GER), Paolo Tagliavento (ITA), Craig Thomson (SCO), Alberto Undiano (ESP), Carlos Velasco Carballo (ESP), Howard Webb (ENG)

Webb, Kassai, Cakir seem to get a ton of big games

Proenca is newer but he got the CL final and Euro final last year

Also Stark is on the prospective WC ref list for UEFA for the World cup

http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/tour..._march2013.pdf

[polak]

Match day bump.

I have a bad feeling about today... Please don't choke BVB!!!

[Locke]

FFS Dortmund....

[polak]

Lewa!!!

For all the talk of how "there are so many better players on Dortmund", he is always the one who gets it done. They need to do everything they can to keep him...