That second Barcelona penalty today...

[Ron Obvious]

That second penalty Barcelona got today, for the shirt-pull by Nesta on Busquets. Was it a penalty, you think? I think it's a tough call. Technically, it's a foul and in the box so it's a no-brainer. But how often is it called in a season? I think I would have ordered the corner retaken and had a word with Nesta and Busquets, and I wouldn't have called it myself.

But then it's high time this sort of behaviour is cracked down on too. I've changed my mind about a half a dozen times on this one since I saw it.

Can't find a link yet...

[Marooned]

1. It shouldn't have been called

but it seems in line with some teams receiving preferential treatment in matches.

[Upton]

2. The refs protect Barca..

you could rightfully say all the big clubs get preferential treatment, but with Barca it's reached a whole new level..

Remember this? Not even a card for Abidal, in the same CL second leg in which RVP was later sent off for kicking the ball approximately 1 second after the ref's offside whistle was blown while 90,000 people were making noise.

[Ron Obvious]

3. Boy, do I remember that...

Yeah, I sure do remember those RvP incidents, as well as the Chelsea - Barca semi-final of a few years ago.

I try to be fair though, and remember also the bad luck Barca had against Inter in their semi-final tie 2 years ago, being denied at least one penalty. There were other incidents too, but since I don't care for Barca, I've forgotten them

There are days when I believe randomness and luck play far too big a part in the sport. The margin between ecstasy and despair are much smaller than in any other sport than I can think of. I suspect, psychologically, it's also one of the reasons why it's so passionately followed everywhere, considering Skinner proved that nothing reinforces behaviour in rats so much as random rewards.

Sign me, just another rat in a replica shirt...

[HuckleB]

4. Yeah, I think it has more to do with Barca's success pissing people off...

... everyone remembers the calls that went Barca's way but forgets the calls that went against them.

I suspect it's quite even. Anyway, the conspiracy theorists on soccer boards do entertain!

[Upton]

5. I don't care for Barca either...at all.

They dive more than the Spanish national team....but then they're basically made up of all Barca and RM players anyway.

Getting back to the RVP incident, favored Barca was in trouble. For though Arsenal was being dominated in that second leg, it was 1-1 and a 3-2 Gunners lead on aggregate, after that great 2-1 win in the first leg at the Emirates, when RVP was sent off around the hour mark. Changed the entire tie. Of course you remember all this, but it still pisses me off. Arsenal deserved better..

We've seen match fixing in Serie A. We had the odd occurrence this year in the last day of the CL group stage when a Lyon side, who had scored only 2 goals total in the competition, were allowed to score 7 by Dinamo Zagreb in just over 28 minutes, which happened to be just enough to put Lyon through. Shit happens in the football world....and it's not always by accident. No one is going to tell me Barca doesn't get preferential treatment above and beyond anyone else...even MU.

[HuckleB]

7. Barca doesn't even dive as much as RM.

And match fixing in Serie A is one thing, but it has nothing to do with the Champions League. Logical fallacies appear to be the only thing anti-Barca nonsense has in common.

[many a good man]

6. The better team won

It was a penalty. Period. Regardless of whether it usually gets called or not. You can look at this one play and claim refs favor Barca. Or you can look at the first leg and see Barca get screwed. I think it all evens out in the end. Hopefully in the end Barca will be crowned champions, because they are the greatest team.

[HuckleB]

8. Exactly.

All these cries are only in force if the crybabies ignore the reality that Barca gets just as many bad calls against it. It's soccer. Barca is on top of the world right now, so everyone is focused on them, but the cries are just so durned silly.