Rijkaard defends ref' confrontation

Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard admits he lost his cool during Tuesday night’s Champions League clash against Lyon as he feared for the safety of his players.

The Dutchman was sent to the stands after confronting referee Stefano Farina at half-time of the 2-2 draw which confirmed Barca’s place in the knockout stages.

Rijkaard had to be restrained as he complained to Farina about Lyon tactics he perceived to be “dangerous”.

“I only wanted to tell the referee about a red card that wasn’t given,” he said.

“I knew it could lead to consequences. When nobody has noticed that somebody is playing dangerously and could cause injury, somebody has to say something.”

Barca went ahead in the third minute when Andres Iniesta brought an end to a sweeping, length-of-the-field move with a precise finish from 12 yards.

Juninho, arguably the man of the match, equalised when his free-kick into the area evaded everyone and found its way into the corner of the net.

Lionel Messi thought he had won it for Barca when he converted a penalty he earned himself after he enticed Sebastien Squillaci into a sprawling tackle in the box, but Juninho was Lyon’s saviour late on with another spot-kick.

The stalemate means the Catalan giants are guaranteed to come top of Group E.

“Our aim was to come top of the group, and we did that. That was important and we are very pleased,” added Rijkaard.

“In general we played fairly well, better than our opponents, but in the end the result was a draw. With a bit more luck we could have won, because we played a good game.”

Rijkaard’s team sheet raised a few eyebrows with Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho named on the bench with 17-year-old Bojan Krkic starting in attack.

“We can only choose 11 players,” argued Rijkaard.

“We have a big squad. It means nothing, everybody takes it well and wants to do what they can for the team. In Ronaldinho’s case, he is highly motivated and keen to play.”