What do European referees have against Darren Fletcher?
Sir Alex Ferguson judged Olegario Benquerenca's decision to book Fletcher for a dive against CSKA Moscow, when he was clearly tripped by Aleksei Berezutski, as "one of the worst I've seen in my lifetime'.
And, while it is impossible to take anything Ferguson says about referees without a pinch of salt these days, it is difficult not to feel a degree of sympathy for the player.
The Scottish midfielder was making only his second European appearance since his cruel sending-off against Arsenal in the Champions League semi-finals last season, which robbed him of the chance to play in the showpiece final against Barcelona.
On that occasion, you may recall that Fletcher had executed a perfect sliding tackle on Gunners captain Cesc Fabregas, only for the referee to brandish the red card on the basis that, in his view, the Scot had denied Arsenal a clear goalscoring opportunity.
While Fletcher's red card could have been rescinded if it had happened in the Premier League, UEFA refused Manchester United's attempt to appeal because such protests are only allowed on the basis of mistaken identity, which is patently ludicrous.
And it is the same rule that means United will be wasting their time if they attempt to pursue the latest miscarriage of justice to befall Fletcher.
Of course, the Premier League doesn't permit appeals against yellow cards either but, as Ferguson pointed out, there is a considerable difference between the hectic tempo of a domestic league and the more sporadic rhythm of an elite tournament like the Champions League in which the matches come around every fortnight at most.
UEFA now have more than three weeks to look again at Fletcher's yellow card before Man Utd play again, just as they had plenty of time to rectify the Scot's semi-final misfortune last season.
And, as Ferguson also pointed out, bans come around a lot more quickly in the Champions League than they do in domestic competitions. While Fletcher's yellow card against CSKA will be scrubbed off if he doesn't accrue another booking in United's two remaining group games, it won't if he does, meaning he would be just one further yellow away from a ban later in the tournament.
The UEFA Champions League is rightly judged as the pinnacle of club football, so it is time that it had an appeals process to match.
For Darren Fletcher's sake, if no one else's.
Is Didier Drogba the world's best?
Carlo Ancelotti said after Chelsea's 2-2 draw with Atletic Madrid that he would not swap Didier Drogba for any other striker in world football.
Drogba has been hailed as the best striker in the world several times in the past, not least by Jose Mourinho. But on every previous occasion it appeared to be spoken more out of a desperate attempt to motivate the player rather than out of any genuine belief that it was the case.
With Drogba already on 12 goals for the season and leading the line superbly for Chelsea, this is perhaps the first occasion when a boast has carried the ring of truth about it.
Of course, in reality, Ancelotti and Chelsea might well be tempted to swap the 31-year-old for a player 10 or even five years younger but, on current form, the Spy certainly can't see a forward anywhere better than the Drog.
