diff --git a/language/references.xml b/language/references.xml
index 319c084b31..cde144fa08 100644
--- a/language/references.xml
+++ b/language/references.xml
@@ -91,13 +91,12 @@ var_dump(property_exists($c, 'd')); // bool(true)
     </note>
     <para>
      The same syntax can be used with functions that return
-     references, and with the <literal>new</literal> operator (in PHP
-     4.0.4 and later):
+     references, and with the <literal>new</literal> operator (since PHP
+     4.0.4 and before PHP 5.0.0):
      <informalexample>
       <programlisting role="php">
 <![CDATA[
 <?php
-$bar =& new fooclass();
 $foo =& find_var($bar);
 ?>
 ]]>
@@ -108,27 +107,6 @@ $foo =& find_var($bar);
      using <literal>=&amp;</literal> in this context is deprecated and
      produces an <constant>E_STRICT</constant> message.
     </para>
-    <note>
-     <para>
-      Not using the <literal>&amp;</literal> operator causes a copy of
-      the object to be made. If you use <literal>$this</literal> in
-      the class it will operate on the current instance of the
-      class. The assignment without
-      <literal>&amp;</literal> will copy the instance (i.e. the object) and
-      <literal>$this</literal> will operate on the copy, which is not
-      always what is desired. Usually you want to have a single
-      instance to work with, due to performance and memory consumption
-      issues.
-     </para>
-     <para>
-      While you can use the <literal>@</literal> operator to
-      <emphasis>mute</emphasis> any errors in the constructor when
-      using it as
-      <literal>@new</literal>, this does not work when using the
-      <literal>&amp;new</literal> statement. This is a limitation of the Zend
-      Engine and will therefore result in a parse error.
-     </para>
-    </note>
     <warning>
      <para>
       If you assign a reference to a variable declared <literal>global</literal>