Arsene Wenger and Thierry Henry are not only outstanding at their respective day jobs. They are intelligent, passionate, articulate men who are genuinely honest and forthright in their beliefs. The problem is that their beliefs on Wednesday night were infected by their inability to lose gracefully.

Indeed, if at some point they watch a replay of the game, they will understand that their accusations were baseless, unfair and, most of all, ended up hurting their image first and foremost, but also diminishing Barcelona's feat. The game is about results, but it's also about common sense and basic judgment. The best team in a competition doesn't always win, and that's life. But in the 2005-06 season, anyone with even a passing knowledge of the game knows that Barcelona was the best team in Europe.

"It's difficult to accept losing a game anyway, but worse when you have to accept losing it on a wrong decision," Wenger said after the game. "That goal [Barcelona's equaliser] was offside and it was proven on television. At this level, we shouldn't have to accept in the future. We have to do something about it."

Henry went even further. He complained about the offside goal, he whined about Jens Lehmann's ejection, he moaned about the treatment he received at the hands of defenders Carles Puyol and Rafa Mrquez and he even implied that there was some kind of plot to favor Barcelona.

"If they don't want us to win it, just say it from the start," Henry said. "[Barcelona is] already a good team, so if they also get help from the referee, they become very difficult to beat. Now I think back and wonder about Andriy Shevchenko's disallowed goal in the semifinal against Barcelona."

This kind of pro-Barca conspiracy is a tempting line of thought. Barcelona is the darling of the world's media right now, the most beloved and entertaining team to watch (with all the economic implications that carries). Chelsea complained bitterly about the officiating in its second-round clash with Barca, as did AC Milan, after Shevchenko's goal was ruled out for no apparent reason.

Throw in the fact that Spain's Angel Mara Villar Llona is one of UEFA's rising stars and head of the referees' committee at FIFA, mix in the fact that Sevilla, another Spanish team, won the UEFA Cup (in a game in which the other finalist, Middlesbrough, was denied a pretty obvious penalty) and you've got a full-blown conspiracy.

The problem with all this is that it ignores one basic fact: Yes, Norwegian referee Terje Hauge had a bad game, but his decisions arguably hurt Barcelona more than Arsenal.

Regarding Lehmann's red card: Strictly speaking, Hauge was correct, although a better referee would have conceded the advantage to Barcelona (which resulted in Ludovic Giuly's putting the ball in the back of the net). Had he done that, Barca would have been a goal up, Lehmann would probably not have been booked, but at least it would have been 11 vs. 11. And, of course, had Giuly not scored, Hauge could have then gone back and dismissed Lehmann.

In the grand scheme of things, how much did that decision actually penalise Arsenal? Would you really rather be a goal down with 70 minutes to go and Barcelona ready to hit on the break?

As for Samuel Eto'o's goal and whether it was offside, replays are inconclusive at best. If he was offside, it was a question of an inch or two, not the kind of thing for which a linesman should be drawn and quartered.

But even more important was another refereeing decision, one that Henry and Wenger conveniently glossed over. In the 35th minute, Emmanuel Ebou took a blatant dive to win a free-kick. It was very obvious; Hauge simply got it wrong. But had he seen the dive, he would have had to show Ebou a yellow card, which would have meant an ejection, as he had already been booked for a nasty late tackle on Mark van Bommel (one that could have been punished with a red on its own).

That decision proved crucial, because it was from that free-kick that Sol Campbell soared above the Barca defence to give Arsenal the lead. Had Hauge got the decision right, Campbell would not have scored and Arsenal would have been down to nine men with 54 minutes to play -- and that would not have been a pretty sight.

Beyond that, it's true that Henry was put through the wringer by Barca's back four. And it's also true that the Arsenal striker should not have been booked. But it's equally true that Kolo Toure got away with more than one borderline challenge as well.

The bottom line is that Hauge was poor on the night, but his officiating certainly did not cost Arsenal the game. And in blaming him for the loss, Henry and Wenger are simply making themselves look bad.