UEFA are so concerned with the upcoming match between Barcelona and Real Madrid at the Camp Nou that they've dispatched Pierluigi Collina to oversee the match. Collina, now retired, is widely regarded as the finest referee in recent history, and he'll be keeping a close eye on proceedings in what's sure to be an extremely contentious game.
Barcelona Vs. Real Madrid, 2011 UEFA Champions League Semifinal: Pierluigi Collina Dispatched To Monitor Match
Barcelona, of course, hold a 2-0 aggregate lead over Real Madrid, but their behaviour at the Santiago Bernabeu has been widely condemned. and although UEFA laughed off a formal protest by Jose Mourinho's side regarding the performance of referee Wolfgang Stark, they're sending their best match officials to oversee the tie. Unfortunately for Mourinho and company, that means that Dutch referee Frank de Bleeckere, who was conned by Sergio Busquets last year into dismissing Inter Milan midfielder Thiago Motta at the Camp Nou and thus found himself on the Special One's refereeing 'blacklist'.
Collina’s appointment is designed to at least provide some outside authority to the whole affair, although I can’t imagine it will change the behaviour of the players on the field. Real Madrid will still be overly physical, Barcelona will continue to embarrass themselves by diving around like a bunch of small seizure-prone children. Maybe there’ll so some consequences to the gamesmanship on both sides of the aisle now - although I wouldn’t bet on that.
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