Midfielder

"He entered the referee's lounge!" No one knows what the editor-in-chief of the Portuguese newspaper "Chronicle" was thinking when it published this headline, but this explosive headline has once again set off a wave of discussion among fans about the inside story of the conflict in the player tunnel during the match between Chelsea and Barcelona. Even this wave is a bit scary. You know, even after the game, it has never been so intense.

After nearly a week of refutation by many Spanish media, Mourinho finally started his counterattack, and the effect of his counterattack may be far more shocking than the result he wanted.

When Mourinho was interviewed by the Portuguese newspaper "Chronicle", he publicly stated in front of the media for the first time that he saw Rijkaard enter the referee Fricks' lounge during the halftime break, and the two had a conversation for a while, and the atmosphere of the conversation seemed very friendly.

"That was definitely not a greeting as the Spanish media said. I really hope it was just a conversation between friends, but don't forget, it was during the game. If Rijkaard was in my position at the time, what would he think? I think he would be more excited than me, which is one of the reasons why the conflict broke out." "When I saw Rijkaard enter the referee's lounge, I couldn't believe it was true. But when Drogba and Flicks were sent off with a red card, I was not surprised at all. When the game was over, I was even relieved because the away draw was not a bad result." Mourinho didn't say much when he was interviewed by the Portuguese media, but his two remarks were shocking enough. What is the role of the media's mouthpiece? Their task is to infinitely amplify other people's speeches. Anyway, in their eyes, anything can develop into a huge conspiracy. A coach of the home team went into the referee's lounge to talk to the referee when the team was behind, and then in the second half, the away team was sent off with a red card, and then the home team regained the advantage on the field. No reporter needs to write more about this, because those words alone are enough for fans to imagine the scene at that time.

Moreover, the collision between Drogba and Valdés has been replayed countless times after the game. Drogba's foot touched the ball first, and when he collided with the opponent, Drogba had obvious protective actions. He only collided with Valdés because of the sliding tackle and his body could not control the speed of the forward rush.

Then the opponent's slightly exaggerated performance and the linesman's blindness made Fricks take out the red card. Even AS had to admit that the penalty was a bit heavy this time, and this red card did change the trend of the game.

If it weren't for the lack of a counterattack support point, Chelsea would not have been surrounded and beaten by the opponent in the last 20 minutes. Now, with Mourinho's oral statement, many Chelsea fans are angry, "That Swedish liar! He murdered our victory with his own hands!"

Chelsea Club's response this time was also fast enough. They had already submitted an appeal. This time, in order to cooperate with Mourinho's interview, they have already issued an appeal report on the conversation between Rijkaard and Fricks, and Ten Cate's attack on Mourinho.

According to Kenyon, "At this time, the club should stand behind the team and the head coach, let them know that they can still rely on their backs. What happened at the Camp Nou is regrettable. The bad away game seems to have turned into a war."

After Kenyon said this, he was counterattacked by the Catalan media, but for this guy with a thicker face than the city wall, he didn't care at all. There were already a lot of people scolding him in England, so would he care about adding more Spaniards?

As the team owner, Abramovich also expressed a strong attitude this time. He firmly supported the team to appeal to UEFA after the game. In his words, "Either don't make a fuss, or make a fuss to death. Do you really think Chelsea is a bun that anyone can pinch!"

Chelsea fans are furious. Watching the game away from home is already enough to make them angry, not to mention watching their team being tricked by the opponent on the field. This breath has been suppressed in their hearts for several days. This time they finally found a place to vent.

Barcelona's official website was occupied by English fans in less than 20 minutes after the news was exposed. Angry Chelsea fans vented their anger on the opponent's official forum, which forced Barcelona to temporarily close the website.

However, in addition to saying that the British are barbaric, Barcelona fans can only fight back with curses. After all, such news is not a glorious thing for many Catalans, which also casts a layer of dust on the result of that game.

Everyone wants to win the game in a fair and square manner, especially since they haven't won yet. Now they can't find any way to fight back except to say that Mourinho is maliciously slandering them. After all, Ten Cate kicked Mourinho in the back, which is news that has been exposed and cannot be erased. Chelsea's appeal and the English media's instigation not only made the process of the Barcelona and Chelsea match more turbid.

It is undoubtedly a trick for UEFA. Mourinho led the entire team to refuse to be interviewed after the game and refused to attend the press conference, which violated UEFA regulations. They were also prepared to give Chelsea and Mourinho a warning.

But now it seems that things are not simple, especially the Barcelona team was caught by the opponent. The worst thing is that the reporter who took the photo of the conflict did have photos showing that Rijkaard and Fricks were talking at the time. As for what they talked about, it is no longer important.

Even if the two guys were really greeting each other at the time, it is estimated that the influence of the home whistle cannot be erased, not to mention that there is a red card that many people criticize. This time, UEFA has become confused about whether to punish or how to punish.

If the final investigation results prove that Mourinho is true this time, then UEFA may be lenient when considering his punishment. Previously, UEFA spokesman William. Gerard said that they would investigate this matter.

Investigation? In fact, Mourinho is very clear that the result of this investigation will be nothing. Even if there is something, UEFA will not expose it. In order to maintain their image, they will not let the media pursue this matter relentlessly.

Mourinho's goal is not to reduce his punishment. He is planning more things than this. After receiving such an ambiguous response from the official, Mourinho said in an interview after the game against Crystal Palace: "My intuition tells me that the best referee for the game in London is Mr. Collina, because he is the best referee in the world and a referee who is almost perfect in personality and ability."

"I hope the game is not controversial, at least there should not be so many discussions, so I think Collina is the right person."

The significance of causing controversy lies in this. Mourinho does not know whether the heads of UEFA will hear his voice. Anyway, he is taking advantage of the hottest time of the news to seize an opportunity. Although the result cannot be predicted, at least the possibility of accidents can be minimized.

Mourinho didn't know if the golden referee Collina would appear at Stamford Bridge as he wished, but the Swede Fricks had already fallen into a vortex of right and wrong. More and more people tried to interview him every day, which seriously interfered with his life.

The worst thing was that some extreme fans in England sent a bullet to the unfortunate Swede and a letter full of death threats.

"I didn't make any judgments that violated the professional ethics of referees. I hope that the annoying harassment will stop from today! Especially some criticisms in the football circle!" Fricks expressed his dissatisfaction angrily in his first interview after the game.

Everyone knew that he was talking about Mourinho, but Mourinho didn't pay any attention to his words at all. Anyway, he insisted on one thing, that Fricks did contact Rijkaard, and as for the content of the conversation during the contact, only the two of them knew, and he was just seeking truth from facts.

I don't know if it was really too much pressure, but one week after the article came out, Fricks officially submitted his resignation report to UEFA. The 42-year-old Swede, who already had 16 years of international refereeing experience, could only leave the refereeing world sadly.

Originally, Fricks was one of the candidates for the main referees of the 2006 World Cup. Now UEFA can only watch this Swede, whom they carefully trained, choose to retire helplessly. After all, he has been living under the magnifying glass of the media for this week.

If he was not a person with strong nerves, he would probably have collapsed at this moment, because countless English people are scolding him as a liar, a liar who deprives others of the fruits of victory!

Fricks can choose to stay, but what can a referee who has lost his credibility do? Even if UEFA can keep him, is it possible for him to stand on the field of the world's top football games? Maybe retirement is a good relief for him, at least he doesn't have to accept those death threats.

"A man who could have been a great referee was forced to leave because of a Portuguese man's relentless pursuit!" This is the reaction from the refereeing community. It can be seen that this time Mourinho not only annoyed the Catalans, but also offended many referees.

But Mourinho has always been the kind of person who doesn't worry about too many lice and too many debts. Anyway, he has many enemies, and it doesn't matter if there are more.

Mourinho expressed regret for those death threats, but he has never regretted his remarks.

What is the truth? Perhaps only the parties involved know that if Rijkaard had not walked into the referee's lounge, none of this would have happened.

You can say that this is a farce arranged by God, but someone has already been eliminated in this farce.

The hatred in the second round of the game has also become stronger.