Well, most of you must be wondering what I think of that Nani goal against Spurs last weekend. It was bizzare, it was unusual and it was uncalled for. Where most Man Utd fans rejoice, us Spurs fans and MOST neutrals were not happy.
Ok, don't get me wrong. For me, it was just a simple misunderstanding, where the Spurs players, especially Huerlo Gomes, thought they had won a free kick in our own box. Let me single out 3 individuals who are involved in this mess.
1) Gomes - Some say, he was wrong. Some say, he should've paid attention to the game. By right, it should be his fault for not paying attention to the referee. But this is normal if you play football and when your team is a goal down and are looking for fast counter attack to equalize. I don't really blame him, as it was quite obvious that Nani had handled the ball after he had been brought down. (yes, by right, Kaboul should be penalize for that tackle and a penalty should be awarded, but hey, that's football.) He taught, the ref had given a free kick, thats why he put the ball down, instead of kicking the ball straight away from his grasp. But then again, he shouldve paid more attention to the referee's orders.
2) The Referee - Now, he should be the one to get the blame. Firstly, an obvious penalty was turned down after Kaboul had brought down Nani in the box. While Nani fell, he handled the ball, thinking they had won the penalty. But no, the ref instead said no. This I couldnt understand. If the ref thought that Nani dived, he should be given a yellow card. For me, the outcome should be either a penalty, or a yellow for Nani. In my opinion, it was a penalty. But the ref said it wasn't so by right Nani should be given a yellow card for diving. There are no two ways about that. Its either one! The ref said later, he had given Spurs an advantage as the ball was with Spurs after Nani fell. What was he thinking? He was near where the incident occured, and dont tell me he did not see a hand ball. From his body language, I could see he had made a mistake by not awarding United the penalty at first. Then he knew he made a mistake for not awarding a freekick to Spurs. He had no other choice but to allow that goal, as he had not make any decision after Nani fell. Bad calls from the ref - * Nani fell, should be a penalty. *Decided not to given penalty, but no action taken against Nani (if he had thought that it wasnt a penalty) *He saw Nani held the ball when he fell, should be a free kick but was probably thinking what had happened moments before. *No choice but the allow the goal as no actions were taken against Kaboul nor Nani.
3)Nani - It was a valid goal but only because of confusions by Gomes and the ref's inability to handle the situation. But when it comes to spotsmanship, its a no-no.Remember the time when Paolo Di Canio stopped play when the Everton keeper was down injured and he had an open goal to score in 2000? The keeper was lying injured on the pitch and di Canio had an open chance to score into an open goal, but as the cross comes in, he caught the ball to have the keeper treated. The Goodison Park faithfuls gave him a standing ovation for that. And what about Robbie Fowler? He was brought down by David Seaman in an Arse-Kops match at Highbury in 1996. He immidiately got up and told the ref it wasn't a penalty. Seaman was booked, Fowler had to take the penalty and purposely shot a soft kick only for Seaman to save it, but Jason McAteer was there to slot it in. Now, thats fair play. But then again, I don't really blame Nani for it. He is a competitive man, he had to do what he had to do. Its just him.
So, who do we put to blame then? For me personally, the ref should take action against Kaboul OR book Nani if he had thought Nani was wrong. But he did nothing. But he had no choice but to allow that goal as HE DID NOTHING! Gomes, should have paid atention to the ref, but I guess he is only human as he had thought that the ref had given a freekick which is obvious. And Nani, well, good bye fairplay from him. He just don't have that in him (unlike Fowler and di Canio), but you can't really blame him for being competitive.
To make it short, Man Utd deserve the win as they were better in the second half, but in the 1st half, I reckon Spurs were slightly better as we had better ball possession. But its a game of two halves, and they are deserved winners. But jangan la kecoh sangat by calling people stupid. Calling Gomes stupid or the ref for that matter. Fairplay la. It is just a simple misunderstanding and this things happens in football. So put it to rest, kiddos!
