Lol - still Drinkxing too!! Was awesome - I can't ever remember sitting watching an England game with my heart pounding in my chest like it was last night. So many let downs and I just didn't care in the past, but this world cup has completely changed me!! Loved every second - Loved beating the cheating twats!
The silly little head butt, the pulling and pushing in the penalty area, the constant hounding of the referee, etc. didnt bother me too much, but kicking away at the penalty spot on the sly before a penalty was to be taken really stuck in my throat. He should be banned for that! Its like the equivalent of ball tampering in cricket.
Wonder if the penalty spot issue was caught on camera and if so can there be a retrospective action taken against the player involved. Also wonder if the fourth official reported the Columbian trainer for his little elbowing of Stirling at half time. There was so much going on there was no way the Ref could keep up with it all and isn't that one of the reasons VAR was introduced. Overall mind I thought the Yankie Ref was pretty poor.
The scuffing up of the penalty spot was clearly visible on the telly so they must have footage of it. VAR doesn't make any difference to the rest of it. In addition to the ref and linesman, there's the 4th official and official FIFA observers who could all cite the Colombians for their behaviour. No one will though, it's all done and dusted. I thought the ref did a good job. That could have ignited and he kept a lid on it and was firm with the Columbian players. It's a hard job being a referee and I thought he made the right decisions to prevent the game descending in to farce.
The bit that baffles me is that they VAR a head butting in the box, however soft. They agree it’s a foul, so it’s a penalty, not given. And it’s a yellow. After deliberation. For a nut. Bewildering that was.
I thought he was weak. Really weak. Taking that long from a decision to taking the kick with all the carry on too, if you think that was "lid kept on" I despair
My understanding is that he couldn't give a penner as the ball was not in play. Defo a red card though
The head-butt was 'violent conduct' which should have resulted in a red card being issued, but it could only be a penalty if the incident took place when the ball was in play, which was not the case (we were waiting for the free-kick to be taken)
We've seen plenty of players in this World Cup moan on and whinge at the ref like that. They are under instructions to keep the game a spectacle. Sending people off in vast numbers ruins the game as a contest. FIFA and the sponsors etc don't want that. He can't prevent their carry on but he can deal with it sensibly, i.e. by not being provoked. It was clear that the Columbians could have lost their heads if there was a sending off and the game would have been ruined. He did very well to keep the game alive as contest.
wasnt really an elbow, more of a nudge to try and provoke him, official spotted it though. No punishment required other than people now realising that he is in fact a tit!
The ref didn't send a message out tho. A yellow as soon as one deserved it, and the others wouldn't be able to get away with it . I'm sorry but as far as I'm concerned the Colombians had lost their heads already. It's not the refs job to keep a contest alive, it's his job to ensure that the rules are adhered to. If an incident deserves a booking, a booking it should be.
But it is. In an ideal world it wouldn't be but that's what FIFA and the television companies etc expect. Their 'product' wouldn't be as marketable if every game ended up with one side having 3 players sent off for things like dissent or simulation etc. That's just reality.
He was ****. He didn't do very well, the rules are the rules you can't pick and choose which one to enforce It was a headbutt, he should have been sent off. No excuses except **** referee
But referees are allowed to exercise discretion. He barely made contact with the headbutt and Henderson over-reacted to it. It tickled his chin and he went down like he'd been properly smashed. With the Columbians already play-acting he would have made a rod for his own back by taking out the red as he would have had to have meted out similar punishment for any further incidents. He punished the incident but presumably chose to see it as a lesser incident in order to keep the game alive. Don't forget, Henderson waved his own head in the direction of one of their players later on and received exactly the same punishment.
We were lucky as well mind. I think it was Henderson who retaliated to provocation with the softest of head butts. And one of our players was provoked into producing a poorly disguised as accidental 'stamp' on one of their players. Both could have been a sending off if they were referred to VAR.
