Martin Hansson, the referee at the centre of the “Hand of Henry” controversy, was under fire again last night after being blamed by Arsène Wenger for Arsenal’s 2-1 Champions League defeat away to Porto.
Lukasz Fabianski, the Arsenal goalkeeper, was badly at fault for both of Porto’s goals, either side of a remarkable equaliser from Sol Campbell — his first goal for the club since scoring in the 2006 final.
Wenger, however, lay responsibility for the defeat in the first leg of their round-of-16 tie squarely on Hansson, the Swedish official who attracted worldwide notoriety for failing to spot Thierry Henry setting up a goal for William Gallas after using his hand when France eliminated Ireland in a World Cup play-off in November.
Wenger’s complaint over Porto’s winner was twofold: that a free kick should not have been awarded because Campbell’s back-pass to Fabianski was accidental, and that Porto should not have been allowed to take it so quickly, Rúben Micael enabling Falcão to score unopposed.
The Arsenal manager has benefited from such smart thinking in the past, though, as Henry scored a controversial goal against Chelsea in 2004 with a quickly taken free kick.
“It’s difficult to swallow a defeat like that,” Wenger said. “It would be difficult to imagine before the game that in the Champions League you could concede two like that.
“I believe first of all it was an accidental back-pass. It has to be intentional to be a free kick and it was not on purpose. Then, if you allow a team to take a free kick quickly five metres from goal, how can you defend that? It’s better than a penalty. I’ve never seen that and I’ve been in the game a long time.
“Jesualdo Ferreira poured scorn on Wenger’s complaints. “It was a legal goal,” the Porto coach said. “The play is born from the intelligence of the Porto player. Wenger is angry, but Thierry Henry from Arsenal also did the same. It’s a fair goal and gives an advantage to Porto.”
David Garrido
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