To be fair, he hasn’t been all that good this season. He can still have the keys to the City after scoring two against those ****ers.
I wouldn’t, 4 in the league I believe and his general play hasn’t been great, but pleased for him none the less. I still wouldn’t have sold him without adequate replacement in the summer, but that’s a different matter!
Just saw the highlights of the Pool game and VAR seemed ridiculous in that first half I must admit. The time for the penalty was bloody ages, and it's alright watching on telly but must have been dull as **** in the ground.
Some time ago there was a brief discussion here about the wish of broadcasters and advertisers to reduce the actual playing time (4 quarters of 20 mins?) while increasing 'commercial' opportunities. Watching VAR yesterday I thought 'this is how it will be done/justified'. That full on USA experience is just a minor law change away, where's the hot dogs and foam hands.
A question for refs or anyone who thinks they know everything about football (guess that's all of you). I know that if a corner curves outside the line the ball is out of play (goal kick). Yesterday Notts County equalised from a cross taken near the line. Would have challenged VAR because it was very close. The ball hit the white line (so in) but then appeared* to be outside the field of play but in the air when the player crossed it. Should that have stood? (do not be swayed by the fact that the opposition was Swansea ). *I say appeared....depended a lot on angle, but ignore that as a factor.
If it was in the field of play when struck by the player and then when behind the line in flight, it has gone out of play. Personally, I thought the ball had gone out of play before he hit it. Very hard to see from two angles but one of the angles made it look to me like it was out. Not clear though.
3-0 Chelsea so they’re going through. Lovely free kick from Marcos Alonso, who I think is an absolutely cracking player.
To speed up VAR decisions....I think the video ref has to make a decision within a certain time (measured in seconds not minutes)....a longer delay suggests it is very close and they should stick with what the ref has decided live (if indeed he has made a decision). Called a soft decision I believe.
