Arsene Wenger to watch group finale at distance after touchline ban
Arsène Wenger will serve the first touchline ban of his career for arguing with a fourth official during the 3-1 defeat by Seville. Uefa has handed out the mandatory one-match punishment after the Arsenal manager was sent off near the end of the Champions League match in Spain on Tuesday.
Wenger will not be allowed to sit on the bench or visit the dressing-room when Arsenal play their final group H match against Steaua Bucharest in two weeks. Arsenal will need to defeat Steaua at the Emirates Stadium and hope that Seville do not win away to Slavia Prague if they are to finish top and gain a probable advantage in the knockout phase.
Wenger remonstrated with Reinold Wiedemeijer, the Dutch fourth official, after being angered by apparent play-acting from Jesús Navas, the Seville winger. Wenger watched the final minutes from the tunnel instead of moving to the stand as he was asked. He has three days to appeal against the decision, from when he is notified of the ban. Wenger could face a further investigation by Uefa if the referee’s report mentions anything untoward. Wenger called the behaviour of Wiedemeijer “shocking”.
Frank Rijkaard, the Barcelona coach, was also sent off during his team’s 2-2 draw with Lyons on Tuesday for confronting Stefano Farina, the referee, and was handed a one-match touchline ban. “Rijkaard went upstairs into the stands after being sent off,” William Gaillard, the Uefa director of communications, said. “That’s the rule. If you are expelled from the technical area, then you have to leave. The case concerning Arsène Wenger will be looked at again, but the rules are quite clear on this.”
Wenger was asked to leave the touchline during the 2-2 draw with Portsmouth last December, but he escaped a ban. He was given a 12-match touchline ban seven years ago for allegedly pushing Paul Taylor, a fourth official, after a match, but the punishment was quashed and he was fined £10,000.
Wenger received some good news yesterday when Cesc Fàbregas said that he will be fit to play against Aston Villa on Saturday. The midfield player was taken off with a hamstring problem in the second half against Seville. “I felt my hamstring in the first half,” Fàbregas said. “I kept going, but I felt it again in the second half. I just came off to prevent something. It’s the first time in my life I have felt this and I didn’t want to take a risk. I’d say I’ll be fit for Saturday, but the doctors are always trying to be a little bit careful. We will see the reaction.
“It’s hard losing. We want to win, but you will not win all your life. One day you have to lose. We have lost against a good side and that’s it. We will try to come back and win on Saturday. We have three important games and the league is the most important thing now for us.”
His views were echoed by Gilberto Silva. “We came to get a result here because we wanted to win the group,” the midfield player said. “Now we just have to win our last game and hope Seville don’t. We have to forget what has happened and turn our minds to our next game. It’s important we win and keep our lead at the top of the Premier League.
“The young players have done so well in previous games, but when you score the first goal you have to keep the ball better and take your chances when they come. This result is not because we were so young, but because we lost control of the game after they equalised. You can still lose with experienced players. We just have to learn that we cannot commit the kinds of mistakes that we did. If we commit those mistakes again, it could be crucial for us.” |
發表於 2007-11-29 04:50 PM
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