Match Day Thread General matchday thread.

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The defender was watching the ball all the way until just before contact, whilst he was turning his back. He knew what he was doing. His arm was out making himself bigger. Them's the rules the ref followed and the VAR decision was correct, confirmed by UEFA :grin:
My favourite thing about it was the crying from so many advocates of VAR - be careful what you wish for <laugh>
 
I'm sure somebody could upload a clip, but basically Aguero played the ball into Sterling who was 2 years offside. The defender reached to catch up with him and the ball deflected off him onto the shooting foot of Sterling who scored.

So on a tenuous technicality, they ruled that the defender was the last person to touch the ball before Sterling scored, thereby ruling him onside. But the defender would never have been in that position and made the challenge if Sterling wasn't in an offside position in the first place.

A bit like Kane against Arsenal last week, Mustafi fouled him, but only because he was racing to try and get ahead of him due to Kane being in an offside position.

The rule on offside should be clear for me, if a player is in an offside position, then it's offside. Whether he tries to play the ball or not. The moment the lino sees an attacking player ahead of the last defender when the ball is played, he should raise his flag.

I think if the Watford player touched it on purpose it was the right call as per the current rules. Could be wrong.
 
The defender was watching the ball all the way until just before contact, whilst he was turning his back. He knew what he was doing. His arm was out making himself bigger. Them's the rules the ref followed and the VAR decision was correct, confirmed by UEFA :grin:

They aren’t exactly going to come out and say their refs are ****e with no idea of how to interpret the laws of the game.
 
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I think if the Watford player touched it on purpose it was the right call as per the current rules. Could be wrong.

He did, but the point is that he only did, because he was trying to clear the ball from Sterling who was offside.

Sterling gained an advantage by being in an offside position and imo it should have been called as offside.
 
The defender was watching the ball all the way until just before contact, whilst he was turning his back. He knew what he was doing. His arm was out making himself bigger. Them's the rules the ref followed and the VAR decision was correct, confirmed by UEFA :grin:

Absolutely this.

It also deflected the trajectory of the ball away from its target. Which might not have been bang on target but there you go, it still did.

He watched the ball onto his arm while sticking out his elbow more or less, to say it shouldn't given just because he turned his back is utter nonesense.

Where's that in the rule book?
 
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He did, but the point is that he only did, because he was trying to clear the ball from Sterling who was offside.

Sterling gained an advantage by being in an offside position and imo it should have been called as offside.

Yeah not disputing that but it’s the rule that is wrong rather than the decision yesterday.
 
They aren’t exactly going to come out and say their refs are ****e with no idea of how to interpret the laws of the game.

No but they confirmed 2 meetings including 1 just 3 days before the game sspecifically on the issue of handball and particularly on clarifying that if a player has his arms away from the body making himself bigger then a pen is to be awarded. We may disagree on the rule itself but the ref made the correct decision according to the rules.
 
Be interesting to see which Arsenal turn up today. Contrasting results mid-week for us and them but we have to go there expecting them to be at their best.

You'll be too strong and motivated for those clowns.

If you don't win by at least two goals, I'm opening the wum gates, Tel.
 
Absolutely this.

It also deflected the trajectory of the ball away from its target. Which might not have been bang on target but there you go, it still did.

He watched the ball onto his arm while sticking out his elbow more or less, to say it shouldn't given just because he turned his back is utter nonesense.

Where's that in the rule book?

Another massive tell is the defender's reaction when the ref awarded the pen. His reaction was of a player who realised he fcked up while trying to be clever. There was no surprise or immediate anger from him at all, he just put his head down.
 
Yeah not disputing that but it’s the rule that is wrong rather than the decision yesterday.

Yep agreed. That's what I was saying, the rule on offside needs changing. If a player is in an offside position, then it should immediately be called as offside.
 
Another massive tell is the defender's reaction when the ref awarded the pen. His reaction was of a player who realised he fcked up while trying to be clever. There was no surprise or immediate anger from him at all.

You can't really use that as a reason. He'd had 3 minutes of watching the Ref do his VAR thing and his reaction was of somebody who knew some **** might be coming his way. It was more a reaction of resigned disappointment knowing there was **** all he could do about it.
 
That was honestly one of the worst VAR pens I've seen awarded. The defender has turned his back, tried to pull his arm into his body and it's still given <laugh>

Shouldn’t have turned his back the stupid ****. In fact, he should have been sent off in the first leg <laugh>