Often in football, the outcome 结果 of a game is decided¹ by the referee²’s whistle 裁判的口哨: a penalty kick 点球 here; a sending off 罚下场 there; a goal disallowed³ 进球失效.

The problem is both teams don’t always agree the referee’s decisions are correct.

This weekend, for example, Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari blamed his side’s defeat to Arsenal⁴ on what he thought was a dodgy decision 令人质疑的决定 by the ref 裁判.

The usually reserved 有保留的 Scolari blew his top 大发雷霆 after Arsenal scored a goal which he thought should have been disallowed.

He was incensed⁵ 愤愤不平的 after seeing Arsenal’s Van Persie score from what looked like an offside position 越位, and has demanded an apology from the referee.

Scolari complained that referees⁶ never apologise for their mistakes. He said it was natural for everyone to make mistakes; players, managers and referees included, but that only players and managers ever do.

Scolari said of the referee that "he is human", this is a common expression which means that a person is just a normal person, they do not have special powers. We often use it after someone has made a mistake and say 'he’s only human' or 'she’s just human'.

Arsenal, meanwhile, were pleased with a performance which saw them come from behind to defeat Chelsea at their near-impregnable 几乎是攻不克破的 home stadium Stamford Bridge.

Having gone behind in the first half, Van Persie struck twice in quick succession 很快地进了两个球 in the second half to hand victory to his side 夺得本队的胜利.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger praised Van Persie, calling him "class". To say someone or something is class is a slang 俚语 way of saying that they are of very high quality.

Wenger also showed a little sympathy for Chelsea, saying that it is difficult to come back from defeat after you have experienced so much success. The Arsenal boss likened 比喻 it to falling off Mount Everest.

In the other big match of the weekend, Manchester’s two clubs met at Man City’s ground Eastlands.

Newly-rich Man City beat their local rivals twice last year, so Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United were keen to redress⁷ the balance 扳回优势 this time around.

After a close 不相上下的 game, a single goal by Man United’s Wayne Rooney was enough to decide the result.

The result delighted United player Michael Carrick, who said, "We were excellent. We really showed what we were made of."

There was also a bizarre incident 不可思议的事故 towards the end of the game which saw Manchester United’s talismanic⁸ player 被认为能创造奇迹的球员 Cristiano Ronaldo sent off.

The player used his hands to touch the ball when it would have been easier to use his head, and was ordered from the pitch after picking up a second yellow card.

Normally Ferguson might have enjoyed to have a go at 批评 the referee’s decision.

But uncharacteristically 一反常态的, Ferguson refused to be drawn⁹ into debate 陷入争论 this time, saying, "I’m not going to get into refereeing¹⁰, we’d be here all day."

To say "we’d be here all day" is to say that you could spend a long, long time doing something, and in the end not necessarily achieve anything.

So in a weekend where the normally quiet Scolari lost his temper 生气了, the usually quick-tempered Ferguson kept his mouth shut 一声也没吭.

Perhaps it’s easier to be gracious 高姿态的 when your side has won.