Chelsea doomed by 'in-the-box thinking'

The closer Chelsea gets to the prize that its billionaire Russian owner craves - the Champions League trophy - the more the conspiracy theory grows that officialdom does not want it to happen.

It started in 2005 when Jose Mourinho was Chelsea's coach. He accused the Swedish referee Anders Frisk of colluding with Barcelona at halftime to favor the Spanish club in the second half.

It continued in 2009 when Chelsea, under Coach Guus Hiddink, was denied three penalty claims by a Norwegian referee, Tom Ovrebo.

And after Chelsea lost the first leg of the quarterfinal at home to Manchester United on Wednesday, the latest coach, Carlo Ancelotti, said on television: "Everyone knows that it was clear. The problem is that sometimes it is not easy to give the penalty in the last minute of a game. You need to have personality, courage and so on. And not always the referees in general have these kind of skills."

Ancelotti is far from being as controversial as Mourinho. His postgame demeanor is renowned for its calm and pragmatic sportsmanship. On Wednesday, however, his case seemed compelling.

Manchester United beat Chelsea, 1-0, thanks to a goal from Wayne Rooney, a marvelous save from United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar and the denial of that penalty appeal in the dying moments.

Chelsea's Ramires had burst energetically into the United area. Patrice Evra pursued him and tried to tackle him from behind and from the side.

From video at any angle, the attempted tackle appears illegal: the ball is on Ramires's left; the initial challenge from Evra is from the right. To win it, Evra would have to go through the opponent, taking out his legs to reach the ball. At high speed, he ended up with his feet wrapped around Ramires in a scissors motion.

It appeared to be a clear penalty. And under modern FIFA regulations, a mandatory red card was the antidote for denying an obvious scoring opportunity.

The Spanish referee, Alberto Undiano, waved away the Chelsea appeals. He did not seem to consult the linesman, nor the additional match official that UEFA employs on Champions League match nights.

That extra official, positioned next to the goal, was directly in line with Wednesday's incident. His view was unimpeded, so he must have seen the foul head-on from 13 yards. He was wired for sound to the referee. If he made any recommendation, it was overruled.

The only possible outcome to Chelsea's sense of injustice might be a UEFA charge against Ancelotti's choice of words in questioning the referee's character. That is forbidden; this is the season when authority wants to crack down on disrespect for match officials.

All of this is unfortunate. It deflects from Manchester United's controlled display and otherwise deserved victory in the stadium of one of its toughest opponents.

It overshadows the fine goal, created by a visionary pass by Michael Carrick, superb control and quickness by Ryan Giggs, and the composed side-foot finish from Rooney.

Rooney should be fit and rested for the return match Tuesday. The English F.A. has confirmed a two-match ban in domestic competition because of his foul-mouthed manner of celebrating a hat trick last weekend.

In European competition, however, he is free to play. The lead he gave United at Chelsea was preserved by van der Sar, who stretched his long, lean frame to its limits to push away a header from Fernando Torres.

The advantage lies with United, though it will be mindful that the last visitor to win at its Old Trafford stadium - a year ago - was Chelsea.

A much clearer advantage was won by Barcelona in the other quarterfinal Wednesday. Playing at less than its best, and vulnerable in defense because Carles Puyol remains injured and Eric Abidal needs time to recover from surgery to remove a liver tumor, Barça dismantled Shakhtar Donetsk, 5-1.

The handsome score line, Barcelona's ninth successive Champions League victory at home, was orchestrated by Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta. Messi did not score, but he threaded the passes for seemingly everyone else - to Iniesta after less than two minutes, followed by Dani Alves, Gerard Pique, Seydou Keita and Xavi Hernandez.

But when is a rout not a rout? When Pep Guardiola, the Barça coach, says so.

"Don't believe the tie is over," Guardiola told the news media. "I'm telling you this isn't finished yet. We are a little short at the back without Abidal and Puyol. We are missing important players with pace. Having said that, the players at my disposal are physical animals, and if there's one thing they know, it's how to compete."

Guardiola's respect for Shakhtar, a team full of Brazilian attackers coached by the wily Romanian Mircea Lucescu, is for real. But even with 50,000 roaring the team on in the mining community in Ukraine next Tuesday, it would require a minor soccer miracle by the home team to eliminate Barça.

The prospect of a Barcelona-Real Madrid semifinal grows ever more likely. And a certain Mr. Mourinho is already on the case.

"If we play Barça," the Real coach said this week, "we have to prepare well to play with 10 men because every time I go there, it's always the same story."

The Mourinho pressure game is preloaded. His team is four goals up after the first leg against Tottenham Hotspur. Barça is four up on Shakhtar. Clear the decks and start the conspiracy excuses for what will now be four Spanish clasicos - the Barcelona/Madrid meetings - in the Spanish league, the Copa del Rey, and now Champions League between late April and early May.

The referees will need courage and personality by the bucketload.