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Wenger fumes at Uefa over charge
2011-03-11 02:23:21
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has hit back at Uefa after he was charged with improper conduct following his side's Champions League exit in Barcelona.
Wenger was angry when Robin van Persie was sent off in the Gunners' 3-1 defeat in Tuesday's second leg of the last-16 tie, which they lost 4-3 on aggregate.
But Wenger denied aiming "inappropriate language" at referee Massimo Busacca.
He said: "It would be good for Uefa to show humility, to apologise, not charge people who have done nothing wrong."
An unrepentant Wenger continued: "I deny completely any charge.
"We are out of the Champions League, we have lost one of our big ambitions, we have been punished with a lot of damages and on top of that, we have to say sorry to Uefa.
"When you have a football game of that stature, you cannot come out with decisions like that and show a lot of arrogance on top of that.
Van Persie (left) protests to Busacca after his sending off"We can all understand that we can make wrong decisions, but after that it becomes dictatorship."
Wenger confronted Busacca at full time on Tuesday along with Gunners midfielder Samir Nasri, who has also been charged by Uefa.
The disciplinary hearing will be heard by Europe's football governing body on 17 March.
Wenger's main point of contention from the game was the second-half dismissal of Dutchman Van Persie, who was shown a second yellow card by Busacca for shooting at goal a second after the official had blown for offside.
Van Persie insisted he had not heard the whistle because of the noise of the 95,000-plus crowd in the Nou Camp.
The sending off came only three minutes after an own goal from Barcelona's Sergio Busquets made it 1-1 on the night, after Lionel Messi's opener for Barcelona, and put Arsenal 3-2 ahead on aggregate.
"It is a shame for me that the referee took the decision to send Robin van Persie off. It was the wrong decision," said Wenger.
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