Guus Hiddink felt Chelsea were on the wrong end of an
"injustice" against Barcelona. The Blues bowed out of the Champions
League on Wednesday night after a dramatic 1-1 draw at Stamford
Bridge.
Michael Essien's opener appeared to have settled the contest as
the game moved into injury time, but Andres Iniesta snatched a late
leveller to book the Catalan giants a final date with Manchester
United.
The Chelsea players were outraged at the final whistle as they
felt they were denied a number of blatant penalty decisions by
referee Tom Henning Ovrebo.
Their manager was equally as disappointed by the performance of
the Norwegian officials and felt his side were harshly treated over
the course of the 90 minutes.
Anger management: the final straw for Chelsea came with
seconds remaining. Michael Ballack's last-ditch shot struck the arm
of Samuel Eto'o. No penalty
"I'm very disappointed, it is not easy to analyse the
game when adrenaline is still pumping," the Dutchman told Sky
Sports.
"We are so disappointed because we have a few issues. Firstly we
could, and should, have scored in some open situations and then
because we must talk about the not given penalties.
"There were three of four situations that were so clear. I will
not say what we really feel, but it is an injustice.
"We should have scored, though, and had the game already
done."
Hiddink refused to concur with the accusations of some of his
players that UEFA were determined to ensure there would not be an
all-English final for a second consecutive season, but admitted
that some decisions on the night had left him baffled.
"You can never prove that, but it is sad," he added.
Heartbreak: as the whistle blew Chelsea were left to ponder
a great defensive performance riven by bad refereeing
decisions.
"It is out of emotion, but there were five or six
situations. It is not just one doubtful one. Nevertheless we should
have scored in other situations."
The Chelsea coach also leapt to the defence of his fuming stars
after their post-match reaction.
"I can fully understand the emotion of the game, as long as they
don't literally touch him (the referee)," he said after Didier
Drogba, John Terry and Michael Ballack had all confronted the
officials.
"I can understand the disappointment. It is not just one
decision made in doubt, it is several. I can fully understand and I
protect my players and their emotion."
Hasta la victoria: the Barcelona players and their fans can
now look to the final in Rome against Manchester United
Player revolt: the referee's last act was to administer a
yellow card to an incensed Didier Drogba after the
whistle.
