Debate: Was Drogba the only villain?

As the experts who witnessed an extraordinary Champions League final dissect the match and crown nearly all of the players involved as deserved winners or valiant losers, one figure is emerging as a villain of the piece. 

After seeing Didier Drogba sent off in extra time for slapping Nemanja Vidic, The Sun called the Chelsea forward "Mad Drog", The Daily Telegraph said his ignominious exit would be a fitting final act to his Stamford Bridge career and The Times suggested the Ivory Coast international had sunk to the occasion.

Their disapproval was heightened by the terrible consequences of Drogba's lack of restraint. He was inked in as a penalty taker in the event of a shoot-out against Manchester United but, in his absence, John Terry was forced to step up. Needing to score his side's fifth penalty to win the cup, the Chelsea captain missed and, ultimately, handed victory to United.

But is it not unfair to reserve all criticism for Drogba?

A player must be sent off for raising his hand to an opponent's face, but it was only the mildest of slaps and certainly nothing to compare to some of the dangerously aggressive tackling that took place in the match.

Drogba was not the only Chelsea player to make a critical mistake, either. Michael Essien left Cristiano Ronaldo unmarked when he scored, Terry badly missed his spot kick and Nicolas Anelka lost the match with a meek penalty.

More pointedly, as he has been throughout the Champions Leage campaign, Drogba was the most dangerous Chelsea forward last night, impressing against a mean United defence while his colleagues Joe Cole and Florent Malouda struggled. 

Is it not time, then, to give the Drog a break?

Comments

[David Rajesh for Chelsea - Malaysia]

Chelsea were in final because of Drogba's 2 goals against liverpool Terry should take responsibility, and he did)
the referee should justify drogba's red card instead.

if terry's penalty went in to the net, it will be a nightmare for C Ronaldo! and he will be at Real Madrid by now. but the spotlight is on drogba NOW, unlucky i guess

stop blaming drog? how much did anelka costed for chelsea? his Drog the only striker? you have a short memory .who sent u in the final?
you attempt to burry drog and I would not accept it as I am an ivorian.if so give drog a break or simply let him go elsewhere.

[SIMON]

the ref. fully supporter of united . that is ashame for him.drogba absolutly mistaken but the case gulty tevez totaly supported by the sided ref.as theresult blues losed

[Kevin]

Chelsea's "poor" behaviour.

Tevez elbowing Makelele anybody in full vuew of the cameras????

Saint Alex harranging the referee all the way from the tunnel to the field at ths start of the 2nd half (and then this classless man having the hypocrisy to criticise Chelsea players in the media for pressuring the ref; LOL!!).

[Ian Edwards]

JAVIG - That was brilliant. Your comments are the best by far.

You should get yourself a job with The Times - but I think you may be too good for them !!

[RAS]

What a bad ref.

[Juv]

Please stop defending Didier Drogba. He slapped Vidic and he deserved to get the red card. If someone had done the same to him he would have definitely been overreacting as usual. Droba does not respect anyone and his theatrics are over the top.
And will everyone stop blaming John Terry like they know how it is to play in a final and take the fifth penalty. It was brave of Terry to even step up to take that penalty. And yes it is Drogba's fault Terry missed because if he had not been sent off Terry wouldnt have needed to take that penalty. I have always been a Manchester United fan but i felt sorry for Terry. And honestly speaking I despise Didier Drogba for his behaviour

[Iain]

If Vidic had slapped Drogba he would have been down on the ground rolling about as if he had been shot. It's typical of the Cheasea players - moaning at every decision, right or wrong, made against them, and diving and play acting at every oppertunity. As a neutral fan watching this I could only support one team, and I was very happy to see them loose.

[Paul]

Some of these one eyed views are astounding!
I am sure that Chelsea fans have loads to moan about - as a ManUtd fan I would have too had we lost. Makalele elbowing Hargreaves, Carvalho should have seen red for trying to break Ronaldo's leg. It was very similar to some shockers we have seen end up in compound fractures - e.g. Eduardo.
I have to say overall the ref was weak which ruined the game. Lets face it - a ref who officiates in Slovakia week in week out will never cope with the premiership's best con artists. I will stop short of offering my views on Chelsea as a team as they have been expressed elsewhere, but had the Ref been able to keep the lid on the game from the start then all of the players would not have spent so much time and energy trying to influence his decisions.
Uefa have to get a grip and make sure they appoint the best referees to these games, not treat them as an outreach project for substandard referees from substandard leagues.
Drogba clearly lost it for Chelsea as he would have taken a penalty, but Terry did need bringing down a peg or two. So did Ronaldo, so in hindsight maybe it was good for him to be sussed out by Cech and miss so poorly. Cech even had the cheek to save it with his face!

[John]

Drogba's slap was a red card offence and it is unbelievable that anybody can defend it. If Vidic had slapped him then he would have fallen to the floor like he'd been shot and would have writhed in agony clutching his face. It was also, given the ongoing melee, a provocative gesture likely to lead to further actions so he had to walk. Drogba is a disgrace as a footballer and I think only Chelsea supporters, viewing the world through blue glasses will have sympathy for him and try to defend him.

Terry is also another character who only Chelsea fans will have sympathy for. Here is a man who continually leads the crowding and hounding of referees and has been the villian in several unsporting incidents on the field. Would Ferdinand or Neville have spat on Tevez like Terry did? The way he approached Tevez and used his arm to shield his act was a disgrace.

[Guy]

The only villain is Terry for his disgusting, cowardly 'snotting' (he didn't spit) on Tevez. The media are going to have to change their line on this "brave hero".

[Chris Banks]

Not the way the match should have been decided...a sending off and a penalty shoot out.
No, it should have been settled after about 30 minutes when Man U could, and should, have been 3-0 ahead. No mistake, United were awesome in the first half but for some reason Fergie decided to defend for a while and almost cost them the game.
UEFA have got to bring in a ruling againasy players harrassing the referee in all matches, l felt that this was the only bad point of an intriguing and purely premiership game. Nothing like it in the world. Well done to both teams.

[tunde taiwo]

I am really disappointed at the turn out of events at such a great game,to think FIFA sings FAIR PLAY all the time,and to remember that the ugly incident of the night was caused by supposed professionals,who i think have sworn to be fair to one another during the course of games is areal disgrace,it is obvious most of these so called players do not really understand the rules of the game and certainly could not be bothered because of what they are paid,i think it is time to review the penalties for such stupidity from players,John Terry and Didier Drogba should be banned for their behaviour for much longer periods as an example.

[Graham Parley]

Drogba taps Vidic on the cheek and the law says he must go.
Tevez assaults Makelele off the ball and no sanction.
If we're going to examine things the ref missed, why no discussion of something the video shows clearly -- the Tevez assault -- and non-stop discussion of something the video doesn't establish clearly, the supposed Terry spit?
Oh, of course. One plays for United and the other for Chelsea.

[K DRISCOLL]

Did I see the same football match ?
Was it not Vidic at the start of the game (as seen on Sky + replay and close up) who smacked Drogba in the face. Blood was seen in his mouth. This was ignored.
SAF ranting to the ref as they walked onto the pitch for second half. Then several incidents against Chelsea were ignored. Ferdinands leg went over Joe Coles head he ducked so avoided being kicked. These and other things seem to be forgotten and we are told what a good game it was. Sorry there were too many sly elbows etc ignored by ref. Lets read more of the actual deeds by all the nasty physical players.
Now Paul Scoles knows how it feels to get whacked maybe he will be more careful, now that was poetic justice. Was confirmed/stated last night he knows exactly what hes doing, not missed timed tackles!

[Martin Bennett]

Chelsea FC did question the officiating but deservedly so. That Sloviakian official made some shady and odd calls, on both sides.
John Terry doesn't deserve the blame; he's header near the end save them for an overtime match.
Drogba shouldn't have gotten a red card, nor should he have hit that guy. His mistake was the costliest.

[BRIAN FORBES]

some of these comments are laughable, the referee was getting revenge on chelsea i feel for the way mourinho blasted him for the garcia goal against liverpool, blatantly giving man utd every decision for the majority of the match, awarding goal kicks for corners, etc. Tevez and rooney's behaviour was also shocking throughout. Tevez constantly was kicking players heels while pulling their shirt, scholes elbow on makelele, evra's elbow on cole and last but not least rooney's blatant harrasment of the referee throughout. Vidic's challenge on anelka late on also was a disgrace. Chelsea are suffering from the hatred mourinho brought on to the club with his at times petulent behaviour

[Smave]

JT should be ashamed of himself for spitting at Tevez... but he won't be! For me, that one moment summed Terry up perfectly! A wide-boy thug with no class! Do you think Rio Ferdinand or Ryan Giggs would have done that?? I sure as hell do'nt! John Terry you are a disgrace to your club your country and to yourself! I hope Fabio was taking note! As for the Drog... hard luck good riddance... pathetic!

[Martin]

Well I have heard some one sided drivel over the years but the comments shown hear are a disgrace. Its as if football is decided on an unseen morality scale (they deserved it over the season?)....give me a break, a few seasons ago I think United were accused of haranguing officials. Its unfortunately part of the modern game, I don't like it either but the only people who can stop it are the governing bodies.

[Bernie]

so the chelsea team of misfits (some of who had fun in a heathrow hotel after 9/11) and you expect them to behave? deserved to lose. always challenging like a pub football team. always bitching when they lose. BUT the best team did win. a football fan not a Man U fan.

[JIM]

Joe Cole should never be picked for the National side again after his performance last night. A theatrical cheat who would feel more at home on the continent. His lack of a 'big game temperament' is so apparent. I hope Capello noted his shameful antics.

[Alex B]

It doesn't matter how hard Drogba slapped Vidic, the point is he did and the referee's shouldn't judge the discipline on the severity. It was a foolish thing to do and he should have definitely been thinking about the penalties. However he was the best Chelsea strike and Rio and Vidic really had to play their best football to stop him.

Terry can't be blamed either, although he missed a penalty he played a good game in defence and stopped a goal with his head. When he did step up to the spot I did feel he was only doing so for sentimental reasons. His crying was unacceptable especially for an England captain. He should have been consoling his team who he was supposed to lead not leave them after the game had been lost.

Essien can't be blamed for his defending of Ronaldo, which other player in the Premier League of Europe can mark arguably the most skilled player in the world.

At the end of the day (great football pun) Chelsea lost and Man Utd won, each team deserved to win but Man Utd did, there's no blame to put on anyone.

[Veronica]

I am a Chelsea fan and i would try my best to be fair in my comment. I am a Nigeria and everyone (Man Utd, Arsenal and Liverpool Fans) in my state (Lagos State) expected Chelsea to lose, simply because they feel we are too proud. even a man blind can see that Chelsea played a better game. Man Utd won out of luck and not because they are the best football club in the world. Chelsea had more shots at goal and covered more distance in last night's game. the most technical aspect of the game ended after the 2hours long game. the penalty shoot-outs were just luck. i resigned myself to fate after the final whistle of the second half of extra time. Good luck to Man Utd but Chelsea STILL RULES FOREVER! to all Chelsea fans out there, this is my point of view....drogba, terry and Anelka will forever blame themselves for our loss-let's not rob it in. they played a very wonderful game...let's give that to them. ballacka nd joe cole were my men of the match...essien was the engine room of the team and ashley cole was simply SUPERB

[Chris G]

It is far too easy to blame Drogba. His actions were stupid at the end, but how that is a red card offence I donot understand. Yellow would be sufficient, there was no malice in it. As for Terry he is a true leader in every sense of the word. Anelka should have volunteered for the 5th pen. He just doesnt care and missed his anyway. Pathetic. Chelsea should get rid of Grant and Anelka. Terry and Drogba are the heart of Chelsea. It is just the fans of other teams that want to see them go because they know they will have a better chance!!!

[Shane]

How quick we are to damn the fallen.