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"Arsenal" coach Arsene Wenger, as well as team captain Thierry Henry, criticized Norwegian referee Terje Hauge after the lost Champions League final.
The "Gunners" coach stated that in the 19th minute, when goalkeeper Jens Lehmann was sent off for fouling Samuel Eto'o, the Cameroonian player was in an offside position when receiving the ball. Additionally, the Frenchman believes that the equalizing goal should not have been allowed due to offside.
"In that episode, when Jens Lehmann was sent off, Samuel Eto'o was in an offside position, the same happened when the first goal was scored against us. It's very painful to lose after such referee errors that forced us to play 10 against 11 and concede an incorrect goal. It's wrong that the opponents had one player more throughout the match."
"These matches were very intense, we defended commendably and had several chances to secure our victory by scoring a second goal, but we didn't take advantage of the opportunities and I'm very sorry for that. I feel that we were very unlucky in this match, but I want to praise my team, which has made tremendous progress over the past three months," Wenger shared his thoughts.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the barricade, there were completely different moods. Samuel Eto'o, who scored the equalizing goal, was in high spirits.
"I don't even know what to say. To all the people who watched the match in the stadium and all our fans who watched the match on television, we showed what we are capable of. We deserve to win," Eto'o shared his joy.
On the other hand, Eto'o's teammate Deco, winning this title for the second time, mentioned that the quantitative advantage greatly helped his team.
"They had opportunities to score at the beginning of the match, but after Lehmann was sent off, we gained the advantage. And even though they scored, we managed to recover. It's a historic achievement for every member of our team," Deco said.
The match hero Henrik Larsson, playing his last match for the "Barcelona" club, talked about the perfect end of his career at the club.
"It was a very difficult match and every member of our team can feel fully involved in the team's success. It's just an incredible way for me to end my career at this club. I have experienced a lot of joy here, winning the Spanish league twice and now this cup. It's amazing," Larsson said.
