Swedish referee Martin Hansson certainly finds controversy. He failed to see Thierry Henry‘s handball on the playthat to the goal that sent France to the 2010 World Cup at Ireland’s expense in November. And on Wednesday he was the referee who handed the ball to Porto’s RubenMicael, whose quick free start led to Falcao‘s winning goal in their UEFA Champions League against Arsenal.
Should Hansson have allowedArsenal time to build a wall to defend the indirect free kick in the penalty area, as Gunners manager Arsene Wenger argued? Former English referee GrahamPoll says no. “Once the referee has awarded the free kick, the rule is that advantage is immediately given back to the team who have been wronged.”
“In the spirit of the law,” Polladds, “it can be argued that the defending team should be given an opportunity to regroup before the kick is taken, but that responsibility falls to the players.”