Didier Drogba Gets Slap on the Wrist

Well, UEFA finally ruled on Chelsea’s behavior after the Champions League semifinal against Barcelona, and I am surprised at how lenient the bans are.

The media is portraying UEFA’s ruling to hand lengthy European bans to Didier Drogba and Jose Bosingwa as harsh.

I disagree.

Drogba was given a six-match ban, but the last two games are suspended for two years. This makes it a four-game ban for his foul-mouthed confrontation with referee Tom Henning Ovrebo at the end of their Champions League semifinal defeat by Barcelona in May.

Chelsea fullback Jose Bosingwa got a four-match ban—with one game suspended for two years—making this a three-game ban for labeling Ovrebo a “thief” after the game.

The day after the semifinal I wrote that Chelsea have to face UEFA’s Wrath over their conduct. UEFA has showed that their campaign for respect for referees is a PR move only.

If UEFA President Michel Platini were serious about making sure that referees were respected he would have given Drogba and Bosingwa more than four and three-game bans, respectively.

Also, what happened to Michael Ballack?

Ballack, if you remember, became incensed about a missed penalty in extra time and aggressively chased the referee on the pitch. TV replays seemed to indicate that Ballack bumped the referee.

Did he get off scot-free here?