When your running, and do a quick turn, see where your landing leg goes as you try to stop the momentum of your body to change direction, then tell me he was "stretching" his leg out.
The standard of reffing overall has been the worst i have seen in any of the world cups. Who picks these guys to do such an important tournament...The tea lady is my guess...
I thought there had to be intent to commit a foul that results in a pen. The defender had gone past and was actually out of the picture. Being kind to the attacker there may have been no intent by him to place his foot on the defender but he did and that resulted in him going over. No intent on the part of the defender = no foul = no pen and it was simply an accident but I thought the opposite in real time. Didn't matter in the end though. EDIT: What was everyone's take on JDG? I thought he did very well and everything that was asked of him. More defensive for Holland than for us but he won countless headers, broke play up effectively and played a part in one of the goals. A very tidy performance I thought.
Seen them given, seen them not. Just to stir things up I also agreed with the penalty against Croatia. Defenders have NO RIGHT to manhandle players in the area which we usually see at set pieces. Too much of it goes on and is often not punished. It doesn't matter that the holding on was light, that the forward went down lightly. A ball merely brushing a hand is still handball; a tap of the foot against another is still contact and deserving of a free kick/penalty. I'm sick and tired of seeing defenders grab shirts and arms etc and get away with it. This is football NOT rugby. Simple solution for defenders is to keep their cheating hands to themselves then they don't run the risk of being penalised. I'm delighted that the penalty was given but it only works if referees consistently penalise both teams when it happens. It would soon cut it out. By the way, everyone is talking about the Dutch maybe winning 8-1 or so conveniently forgetting that Spain also had other very good chances themselves eg the save from Silva and Torres' horror miss at the end. That said the Dutch were great and well deserved their win. Interesting to see how Spain react. I'm betting they'll come good. Also interesting to see if some "tactical" results conspire to dump Spain out of the competition. Depends on how the other fixtures pan out I suppose.
I thought the all important 3rd Holland goal should have been called back for goalkeeper interference by RVP ...
The reign in spain is plainly down the drain ... just cant see them recovering from this game , going to weigh heavy .
Agree, same thing happened in the Croatia game, and the contact then was a lot less and the eventual goal was chalked off. We moan and groan abut the standard of refereeing in the PL but the ones I've seen so far, well not even league 1 standard.
Don't write Spain off just yet. These aren't bad players after all and Holland (particularly Robben) were on fire and up for a spot of revenge. Although it looks as if Piquet and Ramos are ageing and lost pace I fully expect them to regroup and take second spot in this Group. They'll probably meet Brasil and go out thereafter. Holland? Well they could go all the way. Oh and don't agree with Ivor at all on the Brasil pen. I agree than manhanding in the box has to stop and isn't punished enough but there simply wasn't any. A touch (and I mean touch) on the shoulder that caused the player to fall theatrically to the floor? Give me a break. Should have been a booking and a free kick the other way. Jap ref gave into crowd pressure, absolutely no doubt.
It doesn't matter that the holding on was light, that the forward went down lightly. A ball merely brushing a hand is still handball; a tap of the foot against another is still contact and deserving of a free kick/penalty. The minute players get penalties for that Ivor then it ceases to be a contact sport. The player made a right meal of going down and should have been sent off not awarded a penalty. I call that cheating and it needs to be stamped out....
I agree - but unfortunately that's the way FIFA want the way the game to go. At that point you won't be able to tackle and shoulder to shoulder challenges will be no-go. May as well play netball.
I've always advocated that football should be a contact sport but I'm particularly concerned about the scrimmage that almost always takes place in the penalty area before a corner kick etc. Come on, we've all seen it. Defenders with octopus-like arms wrapping themselves around attackers in a totally illegal way. Skrtel of Liverpool has turned it into an art form and rarely does it get punished although I do seem to remember him conceding a couple of pens last season when the officials had the guts to act. I've no time for simulation or cheating but it's the defenders who are doing the cheating in these cases, so if the attacker goes to ground to draw the ref's attention then fair enough in my book. Similarly, you don't need to kick someone's legs from under them to foul them. Often it just takes a tap when someone is travelling at speed and over they go. Still a foul!! Posters will know that I've always been in favour of physicality in the game. I've been screaming for us to recruit some serious muscle for years. It's how I played the game myself..... mainly because I didn't have enough talent to rely on skill alone. I think some physicality is essential to a team but defenders wrestling strikers in the box is NOT physicality, it's cheating. I suppose I've got a thing about this because it always happened to me when I played and then, as now, refs usually did sod all about it. To add insult to injury, when I sorted it (and the offender/s) out myself, I was the one who invariably got penalised. It should be simple enough to police: lay your hands on another player and it's a foul. Why should the hands be there in the first place if not to gain an unfair advantage? And, furthermore, as a frustrated ex striker, I'd red card these offenders and ban them for six games. That would teach 'em.
This should be on the Uruguay v Costa Rica thread but note why the penalty was given. Mind you, it was really blatant. However, interesting comments from the pundits who said that the Uruguay defenders were equally guilty of the same offence on at least a couple of occasions, that it always goes on and should be dealt with. My sentiments exactly!
Agreed but note what the commentators said about the Uruguayan defenders. They weren't rugby tackles either but shirt pulling and laying your hands on another player to hamper him is a foul plain and simple. It should be stamped out.
