Doing his best Michael Ballack impression, Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher got into Howard Webb's face, making contact with the referee after being denied a foul called. Having been brought down by Alex Song, Fletcher reacted with indignation when no whistle was blow and was ultimately fortune not to be carded.
Manchester United Vs. Arsenal: Darren Fletcher, Denied Foul Call, Makes Contact With Howard Webb
But this is Howard Webb. The man's not going to blow his whistle unless the fracture is compound, so when Fletcher played a ball to the edge of the arc and tried to make a run toward Arsenal's penalty area, it was no surprise that Webb didn't see a slight movement from Song to obstruct Fletcher as a foul.
In fairness to Webb, he’s not the only person who would have let that play go. It was an innocuous movement from Song, slightly moving his left leg into Fletcher. The United midfielder made his run too close to Song. As such, Webb judged the contact incidental.
But Flether, jumping to his feet to protest, made contact with Webb and should have been carded. The scene drew memories of Michael Ballack berating officials two years ago in the Champions League semifinal. Tonight, though Fletcher went unpunished, and the scoreless match went on.
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