Firstly people need to stop saying Fabianski was terrible, his first mistake was shocking but it's nothing I haven't seen the best keepers do before.

The second goal, it's possible he didn't see Campbell touch the ball so it's really not his fault he picked it up since I doubt Campbell said "I passed it" or even "kick it" when it barely and briefly touched him.

The rest of the game he was pretty good, made several nice saves/catches etc.

1) Just because it isn't explicitly stated that indirect free kicks cannot be taken from in the penalty area does not mean they can and vice versa. So you have to look at the intentions of the rules that are there.

This point is minor, though quite important nontheless. When a foul is made in the area it is either given as a direct free kick or if it was from a pass back an indirect free kick.

The whole idea of giving an indirect free kick in the area for a pass back is to stop it resulting in a clear goal scoring opportunity (A penalty) as it is taken that as the defender was the last to touch prior to the keeper handling the ball it is not a clear goal scoring opportunity.


2) I know of no indirect quick free kicks being allowed, let alone direct, by referees in the EPL since Henry vs Chelsea in 2005 (I believe) and I cannot recall any from the CL either.

I'm open to change my perspective on these first two points if someone can show me an example of a high level precedent being set of an indirect free quick in the area being allowed to be taken quick in the past five years (Go back further if you want but any further and it increasingly becomes irrelevant).

Actions speak louder than rulebooks, especially in football where referee's constantly show disregard for the rules regarding cautioning players, preferring to allow "context" to rule (Early in the game, "heated" game etc.).


3) The moment the referee took possession of the ball effectively meant that the play was under his control (the whistle).

He wasn't watching the play and clearly had not discussed a quick free kick with the Porto player. Not only that but he was setting up for a regular indirect free kick, watching the players come to the ball and beginning to raise his arm for the indirect etc.

The significance of this point alone should mean it shouldn't have counted, the referee was not in control of the situation.


4) The free kick was taken several feet in front of the actual position the foul was committed.

There's a rather strong precedent set week in, week out in Football all around the world where referees force quick free kicks to be taken from the "exact" spot, sure there is some leeway, but not close to that seen here.


5) He actively, if not knowingly, blocked the closest defender from being able to participate.

Since it's a quick free kick the "ten yards" rules doesn't apply and thus Sol Campbell had every right to expect the referee would not block him and that he could block it from 0 feet away.

Though I can guarantee that had that occurred he would have blown his whistle for it to be retaken.

I dunno how often you read Graham Poll's column but he's just a tiny bit biased against Arsenal. He constantly attacks Wenger at every opportunity while ignoring Fergusons bi-weekly referee bashing.

The fact he had the gall to even suggest that Bendtner was offside against Sunderland, he heavily implies he was actually, just says it all.

On Saturday, a neutral observer would have thought that Arsenal’s first goal looked offside and their second came from a dubious penalty award in stoppage time.

It's really not for him to say, he's not an active referee nor is he part of any FIFA, UEFA or FA referee body that makes any decisions, he's a journalist.

He's biased against Arsenal because Poll made a comment along the lines of "You need to consider the fact the player is the national captain" when a referee sent off John Terry in 2008.

Wenger called him an embarrassment and questioned if the referees actually are taking these things into consideration (He previously hadn't thought they did).

In fact a recent column by Poll again shows that they don't follow the rules of the game.

He's also from Hertfordshire, they're all Spurs supporters there.

I know the media love to follow the whole "Wenger Whinger" headline but it's nowhere near as true as people seem to think. Often there's a massive difference between what he's actually said and what he gets quoted as saying.

I wish he'd shut the fuck up as much as everyone else, but purely because his words get twisted to ludicrous degrees.

He blames referees far, far less than other managers for defeats and goals, but it gets way more publicity as he's "known" for "whinging".

Here are some examples of the media playing with his comments to portray him in a negative light:
Guardian
Daily Mail
Some Arsenal blog with the full comments and a bit of "analysis"

- The "Referee is supposed to watch the game" rule?
- The "Free kick is supposed to be taken where the foul was committed" rule?

Those go without saying, so I'm not going to bother and there is a de facto rule regarding the referee needing to give some sort of signal, be it vocally or via gesture, for quick free kicks around the area.

Ever noticed how when a referee is doing stuff like organising the 10feet for a wall and a player takes it quick the referee puts it back because he wasn't watching?

Technically speaking, it's fine by the rule book but the referee still stops it from happening.