If you're an Arsenal fan with any Irish heritage, now you really hate Martin Hansson. Pic via Guardian.
So, in the 51st minute of last night's first knockout round first leg between Arsenal and F.C. Porto, somebody fucked up. It's now time to figure out who.
The Build Up
In the 50th minute of a 1-1 game, Arsenal midfielder Tomas Rosicky was taken down inside the box and Martin Hansson, the Swedish referee, did not award a penalty. This isn't anything new for the Gunners. Ever since Eduardo was murdered by the European media for "simulation" in Arsenal's Champions League playoff against Celtic in August, Arsenal has been awarded one penalty kick in all competitions over the span of 36 games. But, this is a digression, so let's move on...
The Tap
Law 12 states: "an indirect free kick is awarded to the opposing team if a goalkeeper, inside his own penalty area, ... touches the ball with his hands after it has been deliberately kicked to him by a team-mate." The key word in this definition is "deliberately" leading to the question of whether Sol Campbell intentionally tapped the ball back to Lukasz Fabianski. The tap of the ball came from Campbell's toe and was exceedingly clumsy. It is arguable that it was not deliberate. As Arsene Wenger said, no defender, especially one with as much experience in the game as Campbell, would ever intentionally pass the ball with his toe.
But in the end, here's the situation: Sol Campbell did hit the ball with his foot and then Lukasz Fabianski picked it up with his hands. I don't think you can fault Hansson for awarding the kick in the first place.
The Reaction
Okay, so the indirect free kick has been given, and the ball remains in the hands of the keeper. The referee asks for it back. What do you do? One assumes that, in good sportsmanship, the referee will allow the defending team time to reset themselves. You see it all the time. The referee gives the keeper time to set up the wall, then he blows his whistle, and the attacking team is then allowed to take the kick. Take it too soon and the referee can blow his whistle and say "no, do it again, and wait for my signal." But, he doesn't have to. There is nowhere in the rules where it says the referee has to wait a specific amount of time for the defending team to prepare. It's just kind of assumed that he will.
It's not guaranteed, so the argument is that Fabianski should have held onto the ball, to allow the Arsenal defense to get back into the box. He would have been booked for this, but who cares? He's not going to be playing in the second leg, most likely, so it's not like it's a huge deal that he'll be playing on a yellow card and risk suspension.
But, in retrospect, Fabianski did the worst possible thing he could have done: he turned away from the ball, away from two Porto players, and the referee that actually made the decision so he could yell at the assistant on the touchline. That was a fatal mistake because yes, Hansson should have given Arsenal time to prepare, but it's not like Fabianski used the few seconds he had wisely anyway.
The Block
In the few seconds of confusion, Sol Campbell ended up behind Martin Hansson (see the picture) and could not get into any sort of position to defend Porto's quick kick. Where does the fault here lie? Probably with Hansson, though not entirely because he was standing there. Yes, he should have gotten out of Campbell's way before allowing the kick. But this just goes back to his decision to allow the kick to be taken so quickly in the first place. If you're going to let Porto take that kick so fast, then you should at least make sure you're not obstructing the other team.
The Quick Kick
The conversation I had with Casey immediately after the goal was allowed (and after resetting myself after my mind exploded with what had just happened) was about whether or not it was sportsmanlike for Porto to have taken that kick so quickly, and my conclusion was that it's not Porto's fault that Hansson let it happen so quickly. Hey, look, Arsenal has done this before, against Chelsea in 2004.
The ultimate decision on quick kicks is, in my opinion, as such: it's probably unsportsmanlike for them to be allowed in the first place. But they are, so you'd better be ready, and you can't cry about it afterwards.
The Aftermath
Sol Campbell, brought in for his leadership and experience at the back, blamed the referee for blocking him. Cesc Fabregas, el capitan, took the high road, and backed Fabianski afterward, but also excoriated the defense in general for letting this happen in the first place. Arsene Wenger blamed Hansson as well, for everything involved, as he should, as Wenger has always been known for defending his players in these situations.
The Decision
Yes, Hansson made some odd choices, but was perfectly within the rules to make them, with the slight exception of ruling Campbell's pass intentional. But that is a judgment call and a gray area. Campbell made the mistake of taking a poor touch in the first place, then did little to prevent the situation from getting out of hand. Fabianski errored in his attention to the situation unfolding behind his back.
In the end, everyone involved made a mistake somewhere, but the biggest error of all was Fabianski turning his back to the ball, the referee, and the Porto players to yell at an official that wasn't involved as far as I could tell. In a span of ten seconds, a ton of people made mistakes, but it was Fabianski, by a slim margin that should feel the most blame.
The Quick Kick
The conversation I had with Casey immediately after the goal was allowed (and after resetting myself after my mind exploded with what had just happened) was about whether or not it was sportsmanlike for Porto to have taken that kick so quickly, and my conclusion was that it's not Porto's fault that Hansson let it happen so quickly. Hey, look, Arsenal has done this before, against Chelsea in 2004.
The ultimate decision on quick kicks is, in my opinion, as such: it's probably unsportsmanlike for them to be allowed in the first place. But they are, so you'd better be ready, and you can't cry about it afterwards.
The Aftermath
Sol Campbell, brought in for his leadership and experience at the back, blamed the referee for blocking him. Cesc Fabregas, el capitan, took the high road, and backed Fabianski afterward, but also excoriated the defense in general for letting this happen in the first place. Arsene Wenger blamed Hansson as well, for everything involved, as he should, as Wenger has always been known for defending his players in these situations.
The Decision
Yes, Hansson made some odd choices, but was perfectly within the rules to make them, with the slight exception of ruling Campbell's pass intentional. But that is a judgment call and a gray area. Campbell made the mistake of taking a poor touch in the first place, then did little to prevent the situation from getting out of hand. Fabianski errored in his attention to the situation unfolding behind his back.
In the end, everyone involved made a mistake somewhere, but the biggest error of all was Fabianski turning his back to the ball, the referee, and the Porto players to yell at an official that wasn't involved as far as I could tell. In a span of ten seconds, a ton of people made mistakes, but it was Fabianski, by a slim margin that should feel the most blame.
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