Some declared that Barcelona should have lost, insisting that the regulations state that if a team is not on the pitch within half an hour of kick-off, it counts as a no-show.
"You can lose," insisted Mario Kempes, the club's most emblematic former player, "but you can't lose like that: that was disrespectful to an institution like Valencia".
"I'm not interested in what's lost," he insists.
"A silver won rather than a gold lost," they insisted.
"Britain has always been like this, we've just lost it," insists Tozer.
While the Eagles lost, they insisted this was a successful season.
Fred Wilpon acknowledged the family had lost money, insisted it was not a debilitating amount and then passionately described the emotional pain of being swindled by a friend.
Though he gives many examples of what is lost, he insists that even a mediocre translation will convey a writer's essence; his style, in other words.
The Liberal Democrat minister told the Business Innovation and Skills Select Committee he "categorically" rejected claims that taxpayers had lost out, insisting it would take time for the share price to settle down.
Some Bostonians, perhaps miffed over losing him, insist he inherited a loaded team and the resources to maintain it at a high level — there was no other way to compete in the same division as the Yankees.
