| You've all got one at home haven't you? The wolf in
sheep's clothing who is as good as gold when around the home but once out of
the house can be a real devil. The split personality who you find it hard to
believe is really the person who drank twenty pints of brown ale and then
chucked up over the landlord's dog, yet he's such an angel with the goldfish.
Well you're not alone. García-Aranda is a model referee when officiating
at Spanish league matches, regularly showing only half as many cards as the
more exhuberant members of the profession and an example to the rest with his
calm reasonable behaviour. But stick him in a black shirt out of Spain and he
transforms. Only a few weeks ago he created a scandal in the Liverpool versus
Roma UEFA cup tie when he turned a penalty into a corner without stopping to
take a breath. This week he was a guest referee in the South American World cup
qualifier between Uruguay and Paraguay, and he was at it again. It wasn't all
his fault, but García-Aranda turned down claims for a penalty on
Málaga and Uruguay striker Darío Silva, and with Paraguay winning
by a single goal the game descended into a brawl. After the match the local
press panned the referee for a one sided performance, and there was a sticky
moment as he was leaving the country when angry Uruguay fans chased him through
the airport. Then it was back home to a spotless performance in the Nou Camp.
Talk about Jekyll and Hyde! The league resumed this weekend, and with referees
well rested they were in a fairly benevolent mood. Only two red cards were
shown, one from Megia Dávila who sent off Roteta for insulting a
linesman and further upset the home fans by allowing Jesuli's goal to stand
with Edu in an obvious offside position. The other came from Llonch Andreu, who
also made himself unpopular with Oviedo supporters after he awarded a late
penalty against Danjou for handling in the area, sending off the French
defender after giving him a second yellow card. Nobody doubted it hit his hand,
but at point blank range he had little say in the matter. Andradas Asurmendi
reported the Valencia management for failing to remove posters claiming
Daudén Ibáñez was a Real Madrid supporter. Daudén
had controversially awarded two penalties against Valencia in their last game
at Celta (see week 27 report), and supporters clubs marched through the streets
before this weekend's game wearing donkey masks in protest. Andradas favoured
Valencia by not awarding a penalty by Ayala on Tamudo, but they still lost.
Bueno Grimal waved the yellow card around with gay abandon at the Riazor
stadium, and (according to Villarreal at least) influenced the match in the
second half when he only showed Molina a yellow card for bringing down
Víctor in the area. Whatever your opinion about the rules, technically
he should have shown a red, and with the score at 2-1 after the penalty it
could have been a turning point. However the keeper stayed on and with all
eleven players still on the park Deportivo went on to score two more.
(02.04.01) |
