Referees

“I prefer not to speak. If I speak I will be in trouble.”

— Chelsea, asked about the referee after a 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa, 2014

“I don't like intellectual prostitution, I like intellectual honesty. … We haven't talked about Milan, who will finish the season with zero titles.”

— Inter, at a press conference after a row over a penalty against Roma, 2009

“If I tell UEFA what I really think and feel, my career would end now. Instead, I will just ask a question to which I hope one day to get a response: Why? Why Ovrebo? Why Busacca? Why De Bleeckere? Why Stark? Why? Because every semi-final the same things happen.”

— Real Madrid, after the Champions League semi-final first-leg defeat by Barcelona, 2011