World Cup General Discussion Thread - 2030 The Jokes On You

I disagree, watch any Champions league match and unless there has been a prolonged injury it's almost guaranteed 3 minutes at the end of the 90. And it's not been like this in previous tournaments.

I suspect FIFA have instructed the refs to stop the clock for pretty much everything.

 

Agree. Really hope it’s applied consistently for whole tournament,

 

On Radio 5 they said he didn’t stay because he and his agent misread the contract offer, thinking it had offered 45k per WEEK but it was actually 45k per MONTH. Was this common knowledge? I thought he just preferred the idea of Marseille. They then diverted into a discussion on the merits of living in Chorleywood (Chris Sutton did for a while).

 

I was at this game! Or at least I tried to be. Guess I had a lot more time on my hands in those days. Went with a Barnet supporting mate and we judged the mood wrong, they were queuing around the block when we got there, no chance of getting in. So we went back to the pub, waited until the last few minutes when the gates were opened pre- final whistle and then did that wandering-around-the-pitch-looking-dazed thing fans of teams relegated out of the league seem to do.
They were at Underhill then. A bit shocked it’s twenty years or more ago, but sounds about right!

 

Agree that it's a positive change. Should have been communicated though. Playing havoc with my schedules.

 

And we can then give Wales the point they need when they play us so they qualify too.

 

True enough but I can see us getting 9pts in the group and then falling over as soon as we face a decent side in the knockouts,

 

Got to give credit to the Qataris for this. Nobody should be allowed into a football stadium wearing a 'rainbow bucket hat'

 

https://twitter.com/secrettory12/status/1594960909663080455

 

Looks like we'll be getting at least one penalty a game at this rate. About time a shirt pull, or just grabbing a piece of shirt, was properly penalised as a foul.

 

Agreed. The wrestling at corners has become ridiculous.

 

Quite agree. I’ve never understood the concept of “that wasn’t enough of a foul”. Was it a foul or not?

Then you have: “If you gave a penalty for that, there would be ten penalties in every game.” Well if you correctly gave the penalties it would stop, wouldn’t it?

 

Then you have the situation where the rugby tackle on Maguire still wasn't given. I assume possibly because Maguire also had his arm around the defender, however this is a natural reaction to being manhandled like that.

 

Yes I assumed they saw it as 6 of one and half a dozen of the other given Maguire's arm. More like 10 to 2 though !

 

I thought it had been established that it wasn't given because FIFA is corrupt?

 

That’s correct, along with the blatant shirt pull by Stones that was only given by the corrupt ref because it was a definite penalty.

 

The ‘six and two threes’ argument also doesn’t hold water. The attacking player only wrestles at a corner because he is being held by the defender. If the penalty was always given defenders would stop doing it and it would be easy to penalise an attacker if they persisted, so they would stop too.

 

Only 5 extra minutes for this half. A blink of an eye.

 

Well the VAR delay is for the respective federations to get their bribes in to sway the verdict one way or the other.

 

Plus special long delay in the England match while the ref jogged three miles to the TV screen.

 

Sadly it does hold water. If both players are holding eachother you can't give a pen and say the asttacker is only holding the defender as he himself was being held. You can only give a pen if the defender is the only one committing a foul, unless you can see the defender was clearly fouling first so it was a pen before the attacker reciprocated.
Agree that the refs should give a pen more frequently which would stop defenders holding. I used to have pens given against me for a tendancy to have my arms on a strikers shoulders, more recently it seems anything goes for both attacker and defender.

 

One of the most tactically interesting games I've ever seen at a WC.

This Saudi high line is incredibly well coached and is really effective at stopping Messi finding pockets of space around the Saudi box. Always a risk with a pacey forward like Martinez trying to make runs in behind and I'm sure it'll work eventually but that 2nd Saudi goal was a peach.

 

I understand your point, but I believe giving penalties would put a stop to the whole business on both sides. At the moment refs either ignore the fouling completely or bottle it and give a free kick to the defender. It ruins the game.

 

Wasn't the original point of the newly introduced (at the time) tight fit shirts to try and cut back on the shirt pulling. I know in rugby it was brought in to make it harder for the opposing teams to scrag a player.

 

10+ mins injury time?

Shock, only 8 mins.

 

Yes agree, was just saying the minute the striker joins in, it makes it very difficult to give a pen.

 

Wow, just wow.

 

Looks like Messi will have to settle for just counting his bathfull of Saudi gold.

 

That was incredible

 

A massive shock, only 14 mins of extra time. You would have thought they would have kept the game going until Argentina equalised.

 

Thoroughly enjoyed that second half. That game should be a training video for all teams on how to manage a game out. Amazing performance by the Saudis. Absolute beasts.