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Against all odds, we’re going to have a UEFA Champions League final not involving either Real Madrid or Barcelona.
I have no problem with this; Bayern Munich were deserved winners over two legs against Madrid, while Chelsea’s rear-guard action to get over the top of a Barcelona team that held 83 percent possession in the second leg shouldn’t be understated.
But here’s what I am a bit annoyed with: five minutes into that tie at the Bernabeu, Madrid winger Angel di Maria has a shot, a sliding David Alaba blocks the ball and given his body position, clearly has no control over his limbs at this point. The ball strikes his arm and it’s a penalty. An unintentional handball, but a call I have no problem with.
However, the 19-year-old defender is booked, and typically, he was one of the players ‘walking the tightrope’ of a yellow card ban in his next match. He will now be deprived of playing in a Champions League final thanks to some overzealous card waving.
It wasn’t an act of violence, thuggery or cynicism. It was an involuntary action, with consequences that should have begun and ended in the game he was playing in, not stretching to the next European game the young man would have played.
Holger Badstuber was the best player on the pitch, yet he will also miss the final. Luis Gustavo joins him as they both picked up bookings in extra-time. How fair is that?
They played through the 90 minutes and were cautioned in additional time; time that their opponents in the final did not have to play and as such run the risk of having more players suspended. These cards at the very least should be rescinded for the big game. But of course, they won’t be.
It doesn’t end there. Let’s go back a day. John Terry was sent off for violent conduct. A fair enough punishment for another act of thuggery in JT’s career (although shame on Sanchez for the way he acted; there wasn’t much contact).
He should rightly be suspended and he will miss the final. He’s not alone though; almost half of the Chelsea starting XI from that day will not be playing with Ramires, Branislav Ivanovic and Raul Meireles joining their skipper on the sideline.
A couple of those bookings were a tad ridiculous. Ivanovic was booked for protesting the penalty awarded against Didier Drogba for what, every time I watch it, seems more and more like a dive from Fabregas.
Ramires was also yellowed for arguing with the referee, just minutes before his sublime finish that turned the tie for the Blues. Are we going to deny the world of quality like that over something as miniscule as arguing with a referee?
John Obi Mikel has come out and pleaded publicly with UEFA to overturn the bookings. I’m sure that this would cause some angst in the Bayern camp, if they too did not have three players missing the final after picking up a yellow.
Here’s my solution: grant the two teams the option to ‘amnesty’ suspensions, on a particular player or players. As long as it’s equal and agreed upon by all parties, who cares?
It’s not going to benefit Barcelona to see Raul Meireles sitting on the sidelines, ditto Alaba and Real Madrid.
For example, Ramires is going to miss the final. So is Luis Gustavo. Similar players, both vital to their teams. Could the two managers not simply get together and agree that both players could have their suspensions overturned? It doesn’t disadvantage anyone and more players get to play in the final.
In this particular case, both teams are without three stars. A straight-up swap could be organised, and all six could have their suspensions overturned. John Terry still misses the final, so everybody wins!
Of course, in a situation where both teams did not have the same number of suspensions, they would have to come to an agreement with the other to work out who could have their suspension dissolved, if anyone.
Let’s imagine for a second that Chelsea was going to lose Frank Lampard for the final and Bayern were going to lose, say, Ivica Olić. Bayern would be perfectly within their rights to not allow the amnesty, as Lampard is clearly more vital to Chelsea, than the Croatian back-up striker is to Bayern.
Of course, people will argue that rules are rules and that we need to follow them. But when so many rules in football are ridiculous, why not try and find a solution that doesn’t deprive players of playing in a Champions League final.
It probably still haunts Michael Ballack that he missed a World Cup final. Thankfully, FIFA had the foresight to change that rule so that now yellow cards reset after the quarter-finals.
And in a world that FIFA is making better decisions than you, you really need to have a long look at yourself. Aim up, UEFA.
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