Ref cleared Giggs free-kick
23 Feb 2007 - 13:41:13
Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs has confirmed that the referee gave him the all-clear to take the quick free-kick that secured a controversial 1-0 Champions League win over Lille.
Giggs curled home a left-footed free-kick from 25 yards with seven minutes left to play, having got the okay from Dutch official Eric Braamhaar to take the set-piece, with home goalkeeper Tony Sylva still lining up a defensive wall.
The goal sparked angry scenes among the home fans, while several Lille players looked set to leave the field of play in protest at the goal being allowed to stand.
Giggs told the Manchester Evening News: "The ref came over and said do you want the whistle and I said no, I'll take a quick one.
"So I said to Wayne (Rooney) 'put the ball down' and that was it. I was pleased to see it go in, if it hadn't I probably would have had a few words off the boss.
"Obviously I was pleased with the result, it was a somewhat contentious goal, but I'm obviously pleased with the win.
"But the last time I scored a goal like that, no-one thought about walking off the pitch. I was just amazed by what was happening around us, we didn't know what was going on."