Real Madrid coach Mourinho vented his fury last night after Barca secured a controversial 2-0 victory at the Bernabeu in the first leg of the sides' Champions League semi-final. Mourinho said: "It's clear that against Barcelona you have no chance. "I don't know if it's the publicity of Unicef (Barca's shirt sponsor), I don't know if it's because they are very nice, but they've got this power." Former Chelsea boss Mourinho was reacting to the decisions of referee Wolfgang Stark, primarily the sending-off of Madrid midfielder Pepe in the second half while the game was still goalless. The match was the fourth in a row against Barca this season in which Real had been reduced to 10 men. Chelsea were also on the wrong end of a number of refereeing decisions in their 2009 semi against the Catalans, shortly before Ancelotti arrived at Stamford Bridge. But the Italian said: "I don't think that there is a conspiracy. Football is football. There is no conspiracy. "The referee can make mistakes and I want to think that everything is okay, everything is clear, because this is my work. "Obviously, there are mistakes in football, referees, players, coaches, but there is no conspiracy." He added: "I know Stark very well. Stark is not a referee who can be intimidated. "He has a strong personality. He's a very good referee. Maybe he did a mistake yesterday." Despite disagreeing with Mourinho, Ancelotti expressed sympathy with him, saying: "I can understand his disappointment. "If I have to say something about the situation of the sending-off, it was not a clear situation. "In the semi-final of the Champions League, above all against Barcelona, to play 10 men against 11 was not easy. "I can understand his disappointment about this." Wednesday night's game also saw Barca forward Lionel Messi cement his status as the greatest player of his generation. "Messi in this moment is the best player in the world," said Ancelotti, who dismissed any suggestion the diminutive Argentina star might struggle if he ever came to England. "I don't think that there are a lot of differences between the Spanish league and the Premier League. "He has ability and I think he can show this in every place. "Football is a fantastic sport because I saw in my career thin players, tall players, small players, fat players."
