Italian Referee Does Chelsea Proud

According to reports, Jose Mourinho declared himself happy with the appointment of Italian referee Massimo De Santis before Chelsea’s Champions’ League clash with Liverpool at Anfield.

If that’s the case, by the end of the game he must have been ecstatic because as things turned out, Chelsea were the principal beneficiaries of a curious style of refereeing that was extremely firm in certain areas and extraordinarily tolerant in others.

It soon became apparent that, once he had awarded a free kick, De Santis was absolutely meticulous about the protocol of the whole business. Defenders were left in no doubt that they had to be ten yards from the ball – and, having obligingly paced out the distance for them, he hovered watchfully to ensure that there was no subsequent encroachment. And woe betide anyone who tried to steal a march by taking the kick before he had blown his whistle – or indeed any player who at any time dared to question one of his decisions.

All very laudable, as far as it went, but too often it was not so much the decisions De Santis made as those he didn’t make which were the problem. To begin with, there was the question of cards. While he seemed perfectly capable of dispensing yellow cards (although the number of times Carvalho ploughed into the back of Peter Crouch suggested there might be exceptions), one wondered whether he actually had a red card in his possession.

Then there was the matter of penalties – or rather the absence of penalties. Leaving aside the fact that Liverpool fans, like their Manchester United counterparts, are traditionally inclined to be over-zealous in their appeals for penalties, in this game there were no fewer than three occasions when even the neutrals might not have been surprised if he’d pointed to the spot.

First there was Didier Drogba, who spent so much time in his own penalty area in this game he appeared to be trying to convince his manager that if he continues to disappoint as a striker, he might have a future as a central defender. Unfortunately, it seems that Didier has just about as much talent as a defender as he has as an attacker. The only good news is that in both situations he remains a lucky player. He gets away with it. He fouled Sami Hyypia in the box but Massimo must have thought he got the ball, because no penalty was awarded. And towards the end of the game, when Liverpool were pressing, a cross hit him and went for a corner when it might just as easily have been an own goal (after all, Drogba has been known to score goals when the ball just hits him – as Arsenal fans will recall).

Massimo was equally well placed to wave away two other possible penalties. Luis Garcia looked like scoring, until Paulo Ferreira, who can do most things except look innocent, subtly held him back. Then William Gallas handled Carragher’s header – it was a defining moment in the game, a moment when you would have to be a fan or an employee of Chelsea, or Massimo De Santis, in order to fail to see that it was a penalty.

Not for the first time this season, there was compelling evidence that Chelsea have that special ingredient, something that even Roman Abramovic cannot buy. Luck – and loads of it.