The Spanish press and Atletico Madrid have been making muchos fuss about the incredibly soft Steven Gerrard on Tuesday night, and ref Martin Hansson has now spoken about the dive incident:
“From my angle, I am not convinced that it is a penalty but according to UEFA rules I’m not allowed to make any comment on specific match incidents.”
So Martin, you’re not allowed to make any comment on specific match incidents, is that correct? What’s that you were saying about that penalty?
Anfield draw had nothing to do with Gerrard’s dive, apparently
The Spanish football press are always keen to cook up a conspiracy if things don’t go their way, and today’s edition of Marca blames last night’s late (and dubious) penalty solely on UEFA President Michel Platini. Not Steven Gerrard, nor the referee or the linesman who gave the penalty, but Michel Platini.
The main headline of the paper reads “Another robbery by Platini”, while a smaller headline says “Terrible Swedish referee makes up a penalty.” On their website, an unnamed player says: “It seems they don’t want us to go through.”
Does the UEFA boss seriously have it in for the Spaniards? Or should we just offer them some ketchup for that gigantic chip on their shoulder? Let us know below.
Spoiler bonus: On a completely unrelated note, check out Stevie G’s greatest dives after the jump…
Knut Anders Fostervold is now a professional cyclist, but previously he played football for Norwegian side Molde FK. Along with the Norwegian Cup medal he was awrded in 1994, he should probably receive some sort of acknowledegment for the graceful move he pulls off in the clip above.
The striker in this video goes down with the kind of theatrical flair that David Ginola used to pull off every single week. The well-coiffed Frenchman, however, never had this kind of freakish luck when he hit the deck.
