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If Tuesday’s Champions League quarter final second leg wasn’t dramatic enough, the response to the defeat from Malaga’s Qatari chairman gave fans some added action to follow on Twitter after the game. Sheikh Abdullah N Al Thani, who has funded Malaga for the past couple of years, posted several farcical tweets to the social networking site blaming racism and UEFA for targeting the Spanish club from the beginning of the season, clearly irked by the substandard officiating during the game and Malaga’s impending ban from European competition.
Al Thani (careful with this, @ANAALThani) took charge of Malaga in 2010 and has bankrolled the arrivals of several high-profile stars such as Joaquin, Santi Cazorla, Martin Demichelis, Jeremy Toulalan and many others since then. Last night was the culmination of his efforts as Malaga attempted to make the semi-finals of the competition away to Borussia Dortmund, but two late and debatable goals ended their dream run in the competition. It all proved far too much for Al Thani at the climax of the game, releasing a fit of rage onto Twitter.
Al Thani has continued his cries of injustice and could be subject to a UEFA investigation according to general secretary Gianni Infantino. Speaking at the SoccerEx conference, Infantino confirmed that Al Thani’s tweets would be looked at and that he did not know in what sense the racial abuse was intended. He agreed that referees are partial to a few wrong decisions as both of Dortmund’s late goals appeared to be offside, but Infantino urged that referees always act in good faith.
Malaga have already been dealt a blow by UEFA this season after failing to pay tax bills and player wages on time resulted in the European body banning the club from European competition for a season. It was all too much for Al Thani though, as he threw his toys out of his pram in spectacular fashion. If you follow his timeline then the drama continues and makes us all hopeful that one day Venkys will tweet regularly and expose more footballing madness.
In failing to reach the semi-finals, Malaga miss out on the chance to face two other Spanish teams, Real Madrid and Barcelona. The draw for the semis takes place on Friday with another El Clasico meeting looking a distinct possibility.
