Soccer: Ref cost us game, says Wenger

Martin Hansson, the referee who failed to spot the Thierry Henry handball that sent France through to the World Cup, is in trouble again. This time he has upset a Frenchman.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is furious the Swede penalised his goalkeeper for handling the ball after it had been "accidentally" played by a teammate. He is also angry that Hansson then allowed FC Porto to take the free- kick quickly inside the Arsenal area and score what turned out to be a winning goal in the Champions League.

"What can you do about the second goal? The back-pass was accidental, whenever do you see the defender kick the ball back with his toe?" Arsenal's French manager said after his side lost 2-1 to the Portuguese in the first leg of the first knockout round.

"The ball hit Sol [Campbell]. It was not on purpose and it has to be intentional to be a free-kick. It is difficult to understand how the referee can interpret that."

Wenger is also unhappy the referee allowed Porto to take the free-kick quickly without allowing Arsenal to regroup and form a defensive wall.

"Then, on an indirect free-kick, if you allow the team to play quickly, just five metres from the goal, how can you defend that?" he said.

"It is better than a penalty. It was unbelievable that he allowed Porto to play straightaway and push the ball into the net. I have never seen that and I have been in the game a long time."

Hansson's performance comes three months after he failed to spot France striker Henry deliberately control the ball with his left arm and hand before crossing for teammate William Gallas to head an equaliser against Ireland in a World Cup qualifying playoff. That game finished 1-1 and that put the French through to this year's finals and the Irish out.

Hansson's blunder in November prompted furious protests by Ireland, which were acknowledged but turned down by Fifa, and an embarrassed apology by Henry.

The latest events are not likely to lead to official protests by Arsenal, who now have to beat Porto in the second leg at home to reach the quarter-finals.

But Wenger found it difficult to control his anger. "It is difficult to swallow a defeat like that," the Arsenal manager said. "The goals we conceded were difficult to imagine in a Champions League game."

He got little sympathy from Porto coach Jesualdo Ferreira, who recalled how Henry's quick thinking often used to conjure amazing goals for Wenger's team.

"It was a legal goal, one born out of the intelligence of a Porto player," Ferreira said.

"Thierry Henry also did the same thing when he played for Arsenal."

- AP