KIEV // Arsene Wenger launched a furious attack on the Spanish referee Luis Medina Cantalejo after Arsenal were held 1-1 by Dynao Kiev in the Ukraine. The French manager was angry with the treatment of the England striker Theo Walcott by Andriy Nesmachniy, the Kiev captain. He said: "The referee should also have sent off the left-back three times at least during the game because he destroyed Walcott. And it is the same referee who gave Kiev a penalty which you [Ukrainian press] did not complain about."
Wenger feels Arsenal's "momentum" was maintained following a dramatic late equaliser by captain William Gallas which rescued a point after Ismael Bangoura had put the hosts ahead from the spot. But Wenger was fuming with the referee's performance and confronted Cantalejo on the pitch following the final whistle. "I wanted to understand how we had only three minutes of injury time, and then only played one minute," said Wenger. "Every referee looks to have a different computer to calculate the time and still I do not know and really understand how it works.
"It looks like it is through the inspiration of the referee and he could not explain it. He just said it was enough." Wenger continued: "When we got to 1-1, there was no game any more. We were on top, they looked very tired, but the game was finished because of the interruptions for injuries and stoppages. "You could feel the game was there for the taking, but we had no more opportunity to play." Meanwhile, the Bayern Munich coach Jurgen Klinsmann was a relieved man after watching his side make a successful return to the Champions League with a hard-fought 1-0 win at Steaua Bucharest.
Daniel van Buyten headed the only goal of the game and Klinsmann said: "We knew it would not be easy here. That was really, really hard work." * PA Sport
