Sportscenter

It was an interesting night in Scandinavian footie last night to say the least. Sweden matched up against Denmark in Copenhagen for a qualifying match for the UEFA Euro 2008. Tensions were of course high, as it is expected to be when two neighboring countries meet.

Sweden raged in the first half, leading the game for a while at 3-0. Denmark fought back and by the 75th minute had tied it up with 3 unanswered goals. Up until this point it was a really exciting game with two evenly matched teams battling it out. Denmark was full steam ahead and had no shortage of chances to take the lead late in the match.

Now, the final minutes of the match went beyond exciting; they veered into the realm of just plain weird. Here's how it went down: with two minutes left in the game Danish defender Christian Poulsen punches Sweden's Markus Rosenberg in the stomach in the Swedish penalty box. Rosenberg dropped immediately into a heap. The referee gives Poulsen a red card, ejecting him from the game. The referee then signals that Sweden has been awarded with a penalty kick. About 5 seconds after this, as it if wasn't hectic enough, a Danish supporter storms out onto the field and attempts to attack the referee. The referee was saved by another Danish player who jumped in between the two to lessen the blow.

So, the crazy Danish supporter is led off the field. I'm thinking, "OK, now Sweden gets a chance to win this thing with a penalty kick. The game is ours!" Nah, the referees hold a pow wow and quickly decide that they don't want to risk their well-being by sticking around. So they leave. Yeah, the referees walked off the field with 2 minutes left to play in a tie game with a penalty kick in the wings.

By this point I've had a few beers and I'm screaming at the TV. I don't understand all of what's being said by the commentators but I was getting by good enough to realize how insane this sitch was.

All of the players and coaches also leave the field. What happens now? The referees go ahead and decide that Sweden has won the game with a score of 3-0, taking away all of the Danish goals. Poor Denmark. All they did was play a solid match (besides punching that guy in the stomach). Sucks one of their own fans ruined it for them. Good for Sweden though; now we're pretty much guaranteed into the next round.

As of right now, a UEFA committee is investigating the happenings from last night. They will make the final judgement call and have the power to override the referees if they see fit. My guess is that won't happen and the match will stand at 3-0, Sweden.

And you thought football/soccer was a boring sport without enough action. Twist your satellite dish over this way or go hang out at the Abbey Pub (Chicago folks!) at odd hours and take a peek. This stuff is too good to miss.