Sulky Stars 球星发脾气

While we have seen some dazzling 精彩的 football from both Manchester United and Chelsea this season, two of their star players have been making headlines 上了头条 for the wrong reasons this week.

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba came in for criticism after a foul-mouthed rant¹ 大声地骂脏话 during their game against Barcelona on Wednesday.

And United winger Cristiano Ronaldo made no friends for his petulant² outburst 发脾气 after being substituted on Sunday against Manchester City.

Drogba's incident happened at the end of a tightly-contested Champions League semi-final.

He could not contain his emotion 控制不了自己的情绪 after a last-minute goal for Barcelona sent Chelsea out of this year's competition.

Drogba shouted at the referee³, swore 骂脏话 at TV cameras and called referee Tom Henning Ovrebo "a disgrace" following a series of decisions which went in Barcelona's favour.

But his tirade⁴ 措辞激烈的抨击 of four-letter words 脏话 in front of TV cameras has led many to think that it was Drogba who was the disgrace.

"In the heat of the moment I let out my huge frustration⁵ and disappointment. For that, I apologise," Drogba said later.

If you do something in the heat of the moment, it means you do it suddenly and without thinking rationally because you are influenced by your emotions in a highly-pressured situation.

Despite his behaviour, Drogba received the support of both his boss Gus Hiddink and captain John Terry.

I am fully⁶ behind Didier for the way he reacted," declared Terry. "The man wants to win. You can see the passion that he played with during the game and the passion afterwards."

When Terry says "I am behind Didier," it means he supports him and understands his behaviour. Drogba is still waiting to see whether he will be punished for his unprofessional conduct.

Meanwhile, Manchester United winger and current World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo threw a sulk 生闷气 after being substituted in Sunday's match against Manchester City.

The player hit a chair on his way to the dug out, and sat there shaking his head 摇头 in disgust at his manager's decision.

When United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was questioned about his player's antics 丑态, he gave a diplomatic answer 圆滑的回答, saying: "The boy just wants to play".

Sir Alex may be being lenient⁷ 宽容、手下留情 with his star because of the huge contribution he has made to Manchester United's success in recent years.

Ferguson said it is precisely⁸ because Ronaldo is so valuable that he needed to allow the player to come off early and rest, because there are still important games ahead.

"I have to look at the big picture. He produced an incredible performance against Arsenal⁹ on Tuesday. He ran his socks off."

When he says "he ran his socks off", it means he made a huge effort during the game, running all over the pitch.

So, are these players just passionate¹⁰ professionals, or are they petulant prima donnas 自负的人? What do you think?