MOSCOW, May 7 (RIA Novosti) - Chelsea FC coach Guus Hiddink has reacted furiously to a series of controversial refereeing decisions that saw Barcelona escape several penalty appeals, to edge past Chelsea in the Champions League semifinals. Michael Essien"s 9th minute goal looked enough to put Chelsea, who dominated most of Wednesday"s game, through to their second Champions League final in a row, but in the dying moments of extra time Andres Iniesta scored a stunner to level the score at 1-1 and put the home side out on the away-goals rule. In a post-match interview, Hiddink said: "Players make many mistakes, coaches make mistakes, referees make mistakes. But if you have seen three or four situations waved away, then his was the worst I have seen." He said that Norwegian referee Tom Henning Ovrebo"s failure to call any of the penalty decisions in Chelsea"s favor left him with a feeling "of being robbed and one of injustice." Barcelona, who were reduced to 10 men, barely challenged Chelsea throughout the game, and Hiddink admitted that the west London side had been punished for their failure to take advantage of the possession. "We had two or three open chances and we should have taken them and then we wouldn"t have this fuss about not just one penalty, but three or four," he said. Hiddink has transformed Chelsea since taking over at the club on February 11. As well as reaching the semifinal of Europe"s most prestigious club competition, the side, owned by Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich, have already booked a place in the FA Cup final on May 30. Barcelona will now face Manchester United, who are attempting to become the first football club to retain the Champions League title, in Rome on May 27.
A Moscow court warned media on Thursday against exerting pressure on judges over a RIA Novosti photo correspondent fined for photographing an unsanctioned opposition meeting.
MOSCOW, November 18 (RIA Novosti) - Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov has said Russia should reinstate direct elections for governors in the regions as a more democratic method of selecting regional leaders.