The second half was a tetchy affair, with the referee's whistle preventing the game getting into any kind of rhythm.
This is louder than a drum at 122 decibels, a chainsaw at 100 decibels and a referee's whistle at 121.8 decibels.
It made no difference as the ball was comfortably cleared to touch and the referee blew the whistle for fulltime and joyous Blues celebrations.
Another piledriver from Brunt drew a save from Jaaskelainen before the referee's whistle brought an end to an intriguing, but far from enthralling, first half.
But for all practical purposes, the 4-4-2, the 4-3-3, the 4-2-3-1 and all the rest no longer have any relevance after the referee's whistle is blown.
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While the visiting team stopped in anticipation of the referee's whistle, Robben continued his run and lashed the ball into the far corner before turning away to celebrate.
Simon Church came on to make his debut on 60 minutes, but the Reading striker collected a yellow card moments later when he played on after the referee's whistle.
Earnshaw, making his first start in a competitive match for over a year, twice had the ball in the back of the net before half-time but his celebrations were curtailed by the referee's whistle.
And then there's good old fashioned panic: In a 2009 study, Jordet found that players who approach the ball less than 0.2 seconds after the referee blows the whistle succeed on less than half of their kicks compared with players who take longer (they score on 80%).
Henry's team-mate Cesc Fabregas was equally scathing of the referee after the final whistle.
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No score came and it was probably considered a merciful release by fans and players alike when the referee finally blew the whistle.
Mensah's poor chest control allowed Spearing to burst through and referee Friend blew the whistle for a foul on the edge of the box.
Fans of El Tri, as the Mexican team is known, booed as the referee blew the final whistle, displeased with their team's performance and that two times Mexico's appeal for a penalty call in the box went unrewarded.
Sadly, there is no independent referee who can blow a whistle and stop the game, assess a penalty and make you obey the rules.
Higdon found the net again in the 70th minute, but the referee had already blown the whistle for handball and the scores remained the same.
Enrique's speculative cross almost spared Newcastle in the dying seconds - but it drifted agonisingly wide and referee Foy's final whistle was the catalyst for predictable tears among travelling supporters.
But the referee had blown the final whistle a split second before and it was Livi who were able to breathe a sigh of relief after winning their first-ever European tie.
And seconds before referee Chris Foy blew the whistle on Newcastle's Premier League existence, defender David Edgar summed up a desperate day when he was sent off for his second bookable offence after fouling Ashley Young.
But the two coaches subsequently revealed that they had been informed by the fourth official that the clock had been stopped in error and that the referee would blow the final whistle earlier than the official timing indicated.
The Latics defence played to the linesman's flag, not referee Phil Dowd's whistle, when Vladimir Stojkovic failed to deal with a hopeful ball into the area and Atkinson, who has spent most of this season on loan at League Two side Rochdale, ran from an onside position to head home Kilbane's cross.
But the Canadian defence held out and referee David McHugh's final whistle sent the crowd of 5, 172 into a flag-waving frenzy.
After the match it was revealed Stapleton had been sent off for foul and abusive language by referee Phil Bentham after the final whistle.
Bath went for the victory but a spilled ball in midfield led to referee Wayne Barnes blowing the final whistle, sparking wild celebrations among the Gloucester supporters.
Thursday night, they lucked out when the referee couldn't find her whistle after Heath used her forearm to block a Japanese free kick from just outside the penalty area.
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And just to complete the day, there was the unedifying sight of coach Henk Ten Cate having to restrain a graceless group of Chelsea's defeated players confronting referee Mark Halsey at the final whistle.
And, with the hosts' lead so slender, the result was in the balance right up until referee Chris Foy's final whistle - a whistle that, when it came, provoked jubilant scenes of relief from the home crowd.
Scotland's Max Evans, whose brother Thom suffered a career-ending broken neck against Wales last season, left the field on the stretcher and that seemed to encourage referee Dave Pearson to blow his whistle even though there was still time remaining on the clock.
White Hart Lane exploded in jubilation when referee Frank de Bleeckere sounded the final whistle and Spurs marched on after another glory, glory night.
BBC's Match of the Day 2 programme showed that, by the letter of the law, referee Martin Atkinson should have blown his whistle one second before Owen's winning goal.
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