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Manchester United striker Robin van Persie has criticised Cuneyt Cakir’s controversial decision of dismissing Nani in the crucial 2nd leg Champions League clash against Real Madrid. He also went on to label UEFA as cowards, who according to the Dutch, failed to take any corrective measures after the game.
Van Persie said,“That red card was heavily unjustified. It was not even a yellow card or a free kick. Nani couldn’t do anything about it, he hardly touched Arbeloa.
“The worst thing is that UEFA supports him. That’s cowardly, because I really don’t understand it.
“Why don’t they just be honest and say, ‘He hasn’t seen it?’
“I didn’t understand before the game that this man would be the referee, such an unknown referee who hasn’t been in charge of a big game for months. Even the guys from Madrid told me afterwards that it was not a red card,”
Van Persie reiterated that United would have qualified for the quarters had it not been a red card.
“We really had the feeling that we were going to score the second goal and then it would become very difficult for Real Madrid. But then the referee pulled the red card.”
Meanwhile, Manchester United are looking to save Nani from a 3-match ban in European competitions as they believe the Portuguese’s challenge on Arbeloa was neither malicious or intentional.
