Vi kör en snabb blogg såhär på kvällen – efter de märkliga och näst intill farsartade scenerna som precis utspelats på Old Trafford.
Det är ju inte första gången som Tottenham drabbas av domarkontroverser på Old Trafford – och den här gången har de väl faktiskt skäl att anse sig illa behandlade.
Som Man Utd-supporter är det ju nästan så att man skäms lite.
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Här är några live-beskrivningar av vad som faktiskt hände:
THE GUARDIAN:
[“85 min: CONTROVERSY AHOY!!! Manchester United 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur. Well, here’s a fresh outrage for everyone to prattle on about all next week. First Nani goes down in the box after a very, very light touch from Hutton. That’s never a penalty, more of a dive. Not that it makes any difference. As he slides along the floor, Nani places his hand on the top of the ball and rolls it back with his hand. Gomes picks it up, then pops it down on the ground with a view to taking the free kick that’s surely coming. At which point Nani, standing nearby, nips in and strokes the ball into the net, just to see what happens. And what happens is, after a long debate with the linesman, who has his flag up in favour of Spurs, referee Mark Clattenburg awards the goal. What a stupendiously stupid decision. Spurs are livid. Oh dear. Having said all of that, United played to the whistle, even if it should have blown. And I’m not sure the direction of the game has been affected, because Spurs were looking pretty damn impotent up front, United seeing out the match in total control.”]
TELEGRAPH:
[“85 min: Goal un-disallowed! Nani. What a farce. Here’s what happened. First United think they should have a penalty, as Nani goes down in the box. They get nothing, as Mark Clattenburg turns a deaf ear to the protests of Scholes and Ferdinand. That was the right call – Nani dived. Nani handled the ball as he demanded a penalty, so Gomes thought he had a free-kick. But as he takes his run-up to hit up to hit it Nani wanders up and pokes the ball into the net – because apparently it wasn’t a free kick after all. He celebrates the goal as Tottenham can’t believe what’s happening. Then the goal seems to be disallowed as the linesman raises his flag – then Clattenburg wanders over, has a word with his Simon Beck, his underling – and a roar goes up as the goal is allowed to stand.”]
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Alex Ferguson: [“It was bizarre. No-one knew at the time what was wrong. One minute the goalkeeper had the ball in his hands and next it’s in his net. Nani looked back and looked at the referee and the referee said play on, so what can he do but put the ball in the net. You can look at the referee and look at the linesmen and blame them, but the goalkeeper should know better. He’s an experienced goalkeeper. I thought he made a mess of it. The referee played on because the goalkeeper took possession of the ball. He then went to take a free-kick thinking it was a foul. He made an error.”]
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Harry Redknapp: [“It was handball. He put his hand on the ball and dragged it down. He should have been booked. The referee didn’t see him handball it, that’s why he’s allowed play to go on. The assistant referee has seen it, that’s why he’s flagged. He’s handled the ball. If he’s handled the ball he should be booked and it’s a free-kick. Gomes puts the ball down to take a free-kick. It’s obvious. Why would he stand there and leave the ball there after he saw him handball it?”]
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Slutsatser?
Ja, Spurs målvakt Gomes gjorde en dundertabbe som utan att ha hört någon domarsignal eller liknande släpper bollen för en, som det visade sig, inbillad frispark.
Ja, utan tvekan agerar Nani osportsligt, om än enligt regelboken.
Ja, det går knappast att säga annat än att domarteamet gjorde ett flertal misstag i den där soppan.
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Avgjorde incidenten matchen? Nja, knappast va?!
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Och vem tror ni för övrigt det var som inte godkände Pedro Mendes spökmål på Old Trafford 2005?
Ja just det, Mark Clattenburg.
Jag uppdaterar lite lätt under kvällen när det kommer mer intervjuer från de inblandade.