Fall guy: Drogba has a tantrum when he fails to win a
free-kick against Barca
Manchester
City captain Richard Dunne last night
claimed Chelsea deserved
to be knocked out of the Champions League by Barcelona because they
are ‘divers’. As Chelsea continue to bemoan what they see as an
injustice at the hands of Norwegian referee Tom Henning Ovrebo,
Dunne indicated they have only themselves to blame because of some
of their past behaviour.
Talking before tomorrow’s derby against
Manchester United, Dunne
said: ‘The refs have been given rules and they have no option but
to punish defenders sometimes. But there are a lot more divers as
well. It has crept in more and more, but what goes around comes
around. You dive around and teams score against you in injury
time.’
Dunne did not specifically refer to Chelsea’s defeat by
Barcelona on Wednesday, when Andres Iniesta scored the decisive
equaliser in added time, but the Republic of Ireland defender has
long been a critic of Didier Drogba, whose behaviour after the
semi-final shocked the football world.
Take it as red: Dunne gets his marching orders
against Hamburg in the UEFA Cup.
The Portugal winger has been sent off twice against City in his
United career and Dunne added: ‘He is the best player in the world
and he plays the game to his advantage. At times, he can be running
so fast that any nick could send him tumbling. He makes the most of
the situation, I suppose. But diving or not diving, he’s impossible
to mark when he’s on form.’
Last time out: Ronaldo inexplicably handles a Wayne
Rooney corner for his second yellow card during United's 1-0 win at
Eastlands
UEFA confirmed yesterday they have received referee
Ovrebo’s report. They are set to issue charges next week against
Drogba, who approached Ovrebo aggressively and screamed
‘F***ing disgrace’ at TV cameras in the immediate aftermath of the
game, as well as Michael Ballack and Jose Bosingwa. All three are
likely to be banned for at least three European matches next
season.
Ovrebo’s wife, Bente, said yesterday her husband, who holds a
full-time job as a psychologist, was ‘extremely shaken up’. She
added: ‘It is terrifying. Why are people reacting like this? It’s
just football.’
'It's just football': Michael Ballack remonstrates with
Ovrebo
FIFA president Sepp Blatter joined the debate by
demanding that more countries make their referees fully
professional. He said: ‘I’ve been saying for 10 years we must
improve refereeing and that means it’s time to have professionals
and use only them in high-level competitions.’
English uniformed police will join 2,000 Italian officers on
duty for the first time in Rome on the day of the Champions League
final — May 27 — in a bid to protectUnited fans from local
hooligans.
