A live broadcast grab shows Sergio Busquets' trickery. Photo: courtesy of www.google.com

By Wang Wei

Barcelona were always the firm favorites to lift the Champions League trophy due to their flamboyant style of football. But Sergio Busquets revealed a dark side to the Catalonians when he decided to cheat referee Frank De Bleeckere by conspiring to get his former teammate Thiago Motta sent off.

The 21-year-old collapsed to the ground and went into a theatrical roll after Motta's hand accidentally brushed him in the face midway through the first half. The Spaniard, lying on the turf "in pain," didn't forget to flash a look at the referee to check whether his cynical attempt had worked. His melodramatic reaction convinced De Bleeckere to produce a straight red for what was minimal contact.

Busquet's behavior was nothing but a disgrace. Last season's treble-winning team were two goals down in a Champions League semifinal with simply no answer to a well-organized Inter defense, and their players clearly thought they had every right to seek an advantage by any means possible.

It was up to the referee to prevent, or be alert to any trickery. De Bleeckere failed to do his job.

Why the referee was so easily deceived is unclear. Maybe he was intimidated or influenced by the 100,000 strong crowd, or perhaps he was trying to stamp his authority on a game increasingly interrupted by fouls. The decision to dismiss Motta cost fans all over the world the chance to witness what was possibly going to be one of the matches of the decade.

Busquets will probably receive punishment, retrospectively, for bringing the game and his team into disrepute, and De Bleeckere should be shamed for ruining the match, denying the players a level playing field and the spectators and viewing public a true showpiece event.