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| Ronaldo was sent off after handling the ball |
Often in football, the outcome 結果 of a game is decided by the referee’s whistle 裁判的口哨: a penalty kick 點球 here; a sending off 罰下場 there; a goal disallowed 進球失效.
The problem is both teams don’t always agree the referee’s decisions are correct.
This weekend, for example, Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari blamed his side’s defeat to Arsenal on what he thought was a dodgy decision 令人質疑的決定 by the ref 裁判.
The usually reserved 有保留的 Scolari blew his top 大發雷霆 after Arsenal scored a goal which he thought should have been disallowed.
He was incensed 憤憤不平的 after seeing Arsenal’s Van Persie score from what looked like an offside position 越位, and has demanded an apology from the referee.
Scolari complained that referees never apologise for their mistakes. He said it was natural for everyone to make mistakes; players, managers and referees included, but that only players and managers ever do.
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He is human and he can make a mistake but the offside has killed my team.
Luiz Felipe Scolari, Chelsea boss
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Scolari said of the referee that "he is human", this is a common expression which means that a person is just a normal person, they do not have special powers. We often use it after someone has made a mistake and say 'he’s only human' or 'she’s just human'.
Arsenal, meanwhile, were pleased with a performance which saw them come from behind to defeat Chelsea at their near-impregnable 幾乎是攻不克破的 home stadium Stamford Bridge.
Having gone behind in the first half, Van Persie struck twice in quick succession 很快地進了兩個球 in the second half to hand victory to his side 奪得本隊的勝利.
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 He loves the club deeply, and he’s class, we know that. We showed a lot of character.
Arsene Wenger, Arsenal boss
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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger praised Van Persie, calling him "class". To say someone or something is class is a slang 俚語 way of saying that they are of very high quality.
Wenger also showed a little sympathy for Chelsea, saying that it is difficult to come back from defeat after you have experienced so much success. The Arsenal boss likened 比喻 it to falling off Mount Everest.
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 It is like they are on top of Mount Everest and then they fall down.
Arsene Wenger, Arsenal boss
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In the other big match of the weekend, Manchester’s two clubs met at Man City’s ground Eastlands.
Newly-rich Man City beat their local rivals twice last year, so Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United were keen to redress the balance 扳回優勢 this time around.
After a close 不相上下的 game, a single goal by Man United’s Wayne Rooney was enough to decide the result.
The result delighted United player Michael Carrick, who said, "We were excellent. We really showed what we were made of."
There was also a bizarre incident 不可思議的事故 towards the end of the game which saw Manchester United’s talismanic player 被認為能創造奇跡的球員 Cristiano Ronaldo sent off.
The player used his hands to touch the ball when it would have been easier to use his head, and was ordered from the pitch after picking up a second yellow card.
Normally Ferguson might have enjoyed to have a go at 批評 the referee’s decision.
But uncharacteristically 一反常態的, Ferguson refused to be drawn into debate 陷入爭論 this time, saying, "I’m not going to get into refereeing, we’d be here all day."
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 I’m not going to get into refereeing, we’d be here all day.
Alex Ferguson, Man United boss
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To say "we’d be here all day" is to say that you could spend a long, long time doing something, and in the end not necessarily achieve anything.
So in a weekend where the normally quiet Scolari lost his temper 生氣了, the usually quick-tempered Ferguson kept his mouth shut 一聲也沒吭.
Perhaps it’s easier to be gracious 高姿態的 when your side has won.
