Schalke defender Heiko Westermann was left fuming last night when the referee failed to award his side a late penalty at the Veltins Arena that would have given the Königsblauen a chance to get back in the game.
Schalke were beaten 1-0 by Barcelona in the home first leg thanks to an early goal from Bojan, but Westermann believes his side were denied a clear opportunity to equalise late on by the non-awarding of a penalty.
Ten minutes from the end a Christian Pander cross looked destined for Westermann’s head, only for a shove from Eric Abidal to shunt the German international out of his run.
“I was standing three meters from goal and it looked like all I had to do was get on the end of the cross. I’ve never been so clearly fouled” Westermann explained. “It was a clear penalty.”
However, there was no whistle from the referee and combined with the fact that the home side missed a number of other chances they ended up losing to the early Bojan goal.
“Barcelona wouldn’t have been able to complain if they had conceded three or four” the centre back added.
“For me the better side didn’t win. In the first half we allowed players like Xavi and Iniesta too much room.
“I think we can go to Barcelona for the second leg full of pride and the game is still not lost. We showed that we could match Barcelona.”
Goal.com - Schalke - Westermann Slams Ref After Barca Defeat