Feeling let down by this ‘Fair Play’ charade

AS the final whistle went last Wednesday, I looked away from the celebrating Barça players and my eyes alighted on one of the many special UEFA advertising hoardings – this one had “Fair Play” emblazoned across it.

I sat there and stared at it a while wondering if Tom Henning Ovrebø had seen it and if, now that the final whistle had gone, he could honestly claim the preceding 95 minutes bore any relation to fair play in any way.

Corruption? Gross ineptitude of monstrous proportions? A man out of his depth and over-awed by a high-profile occasion? Whichever of those you decide led Ovrebø to make those decisions, you do need to ask yourself whether both his assistants suffered from the same stage fright, incompetence or ‘whatever’.