Wenger blasts 'naive' referee after Arsenal go down 2-1

A FURIOUS Arsene Wenger hit out at referee Lee Probert after watching his Arsenal side concede late goals at Fulham on Monday evening to go down 2-1. The Gunners played the last 12 minutes with ten men after defender Johan Djourou was sent off for a second bookable offence (above) and Fulham used their advantage to score twice.

Wenger couldn't contain his fury afterwards, blasting Probert for his performance: "All the important decisions went against us," stormed the Frenchman. "The penalty not given on Gervinho, the first yellow card was not a yellow, the second was a foul for us. They [Fulham] tried to get him [Djourou] the second yellow."

Wenger might have a reputation for his one-eyed interpretations of refereeing decisions but on this occasion it was hard not to have a degree of sympathy for the Arsenal boss.

Gervinho was tripped by Philippe Senderos as he closed in on the Fulham goal in the first-half. And though the Ivory Coast man made a meal of the challenge, replays showed there was clear contact. In contrast, what contact there was between Djourou and Fulham striker Bobby Zamora that led to the Arsenal defender's second yellow card was fleeting, but Probert had no hesitation in giving the Swiss defender his marching orders.

"The referee influenced the game in completely the wrong way, in my opinion," said Wenger, whose side now lie fifth on 36 points, one behind Chelsea who had enjoyed a 2-1 win at Wolves earlier in the day.

Asked whether Gervinho had been tripped by Senderos, Wenger replied: "200 per cent, but we know we don't get penalties."

Notwithstanding Wenger's sense of grievance, Arsenal should have put the game to bed long before Djourou's dismissal. The visitors dominated the first half but had only Laurent Koscielny's headed goal to show for their efforts at the break. A brilliant double save from David Stockdale, denying first Aaron Ramsey and then Alex Song, kept Fulham in the game and in the second half the hosts deserved an equaliser for their endeavour.

It came on 85 minutes when Steve Sidwell capitalised on a poor clearance from goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny to head home. Then, deep into overtime, Zamora blasted the winner as the Gunners defence again failed to clear their lines.

Wenger's final broadside was reserved for the Fulham players, whom he accused of conspiring to get Djourou sent off. "At the moment you get the first yellow card they tried every time to get him the second yellow and the referee was naïve enough to give it," Wenger told reporters at the post-match press conference.

That drew a sharp retort from Fulham boss Martin Jol, who said of Wenger's accusation: "Maybe he could accuse me of trying to do something, but I don't think players can do that. He [Djourou] probably could have had a second booking before that to be fair." ·