Henry furious with Ref

Arsenal captain Thierry Henry would love to be able to have a friendly chat with referees - just like in rugby.

Henry was furious last night when what appeared to be a perfectly good goal against CSKA Moscow was disallowed by Manuel Mejuto Gonzalez for what the Spanish official saw as handball, booking the striker into the bargain.

Had the late effort stood, it could well have earned the Gunners a point to keep them top of Champions League Group G ahead of the impressive Russians.

In rugby union, the team captain or appointed representative is permitted to approach the referee for an explanation on decisions during the game, with a tradition of always addressing the man with the whistle as "sir".

Henry feels it is about time football adopted a similar approach, having been unable to put his point across to the match officials, even after the final whistle, at the Lokomotiv Stadium last night.

"People talk about footballers behaving like rugby players and accepting decisions - but rugby players can talk with the referee. We cannot," the Arsenal captain observed.

"When you come at them, try to speak to them then they do not give an answer and will not even speak to you. That is difficult to take.

"You do not want to have a go at them, but just to ask them what they saw at crucial times and yet you are not allowed to do that in football.

"I would like the game to be a bit like rugby at times because in football you just cannot speak to referees.

"When you score to equalise in the final minutes and ask why he has disallowed it, the guy does not answer you, it is like you are not there. That can be difficult to take.

"A football game often comes down to a couple of key moments. If they do not go your way then you are in trouble."