Law 12 of the FIFA Laws of the Game concerns Fouls and Misconduct. In particular, it states:
A direct free kick is awarded if a player commits any of the following
offences:
- a handball offence (except for the goalkeeper within their penalty area)
- holds an opponent
- impedes an opponent with contact
- bites or spits at someone
- throws an object at the ball, an opponent or a match official, or makes contact with the ball with a held object
As one might imagine, that leaves a lot to the interpretation of the match official. And that's where you come in, expert Gheorghies.
Last night in London, England were locked in a battle with Denmark in the semifinals of the European championships. The Three Lions were rampant, looking dangerous against the brave but tiring Danes. With the score 1-1 in extra time, the sublime Raheem Sterling flitted into the penalty box, split a pair of opponents, and went down under pressure from Joakim Maehle and Matthias Jensen. At first blush, it appeared an obvious penalty, and referee Danny Makkelie agreed, pointing to the spot.
The replay was, shall we say, less than conclusive. Cut to the 2:45 mark of the video below, and ignore the talking heads.
After review by the video assistant referee (VAR), the penalty call was confirmed. Harry Kane's spot kick was saved by the mighty Kasper Schmeichel, but Kane pounced on the rebound to score and give England a 2-1 win. (That they deserved, if we're being fair.)
What say you, Gheorghies? Penalty? Dive? Divenalty?
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The verdict:
Posts
17 comments:
It was a bad call b/c of a good dive by Sterling. As you said, England was very much the dominant team in added time, so I am fine with it.
While I am sad to see no Man U striker getting action up front after years of Rooney and Welbeck, I do love the back line the team has. I played outside fullback in high school, and I've always admired a bad-ass stopper in the middle that shuts shit down. Harry Maguire has been a beast - huge and physical. And Luke Shaw is in fantastic form. He has always been a weapon on the left side, pressing the action.
I will be rooting hard for England vs Italy. And don't forget Brazil - Argentina this Sat night at 8 PM. Nice weekend of footie ahead of us.
To my untrained eye, it wasn't a dive per se, but it wasn't a foul. It was akin to hoops players barreling into the lane expecting contact they don't get and their momentum takes them to the floor. If the Dane doesn't bump mild hips (an expression that could have been used for some of my bedroom encounters) with him as he's falling to the ground, play goes on sans stoppage.
This is why soccer isn't a real sport. That said, I love the Scottish guy who looks like Mike Francesa with bad teeth.
Untrained futbol eye, so of course I'll weigh in. Yes, there was contact. One Dane appears to clip Sterling's boot as he tries to squeeze between the two. Second Dane certainly does a hip brush. Sterling is listed at 5-7, 152, so he's going to get bounced around any time he charges into the box.
You can argue that a foul is a foul is a foul, and that the contact certainly threw Sterling off balance. But in extra time of a tied Euro semifinal, that's a juncture when a referee justifiably can go full Stanley Cup Game 7 third period and swallow his whistle for all but the most egregious fouls and pull-downs. The Stripes don't want to be viewed as the reason for a victory in such a setting.
I'd also argue that, given the limited scoring in soccer and the time and circumstances, that the reward is way disproportionate to the foul itself. If a player is intentionally pulled down or has his legs taken out to prevent an open chance, absolutely that merits a PK. But incidental contact when a player is going to the rim, as Whitney analogized, and defenders are, well, defending, perhaps award the offense a free kick from the 22. Refs make a slew of judgment calls during a match anyway. What's one more?
I agree with the rest of the Gheorghies and there is contact but this is a really questionable call under the circumstances. Would love to see them get rid of VAR but that is not going to happen. That said, the real issue is the amount of diving. They need to penalize dives severely and get it out of the game. People do it because it works but it is a fucking disgrace and leads to issues like this. I’m not saying this was a dive, but the fact that diving goes unpenalized results these discussions. Use VAR to review dives. Yellow card dives and red card egregious Grayson Allen-esque ones. If you roll around and on the ground like you were shot, you cannot play the ball until the next stoppage.
funny thing about dives i've observed as a coach: girls don't do it. on multiple occasions this high school season, kids have been fouled and fought through the foul rather than going to ground. boys would've let momentum take them down and likely earned a call.
the lesson, as always: women are tougher than men.
and zed, at it's highest level, soccer is physical as hell. shame the diving obscures that.
I know, I know. I hoped to trigger some righteous indignation but failed.
It’s hard to be mad at the penalty. It was close, but winning fouls is a treasured football skill now. I was glad it went 120 so I could catch a he finish after driving ballet shuttle. Also glad that it didn’t go to penalties. I hate when matches are decided that way.
Rob always said it's like playing 11 or 12 innings of baseball and then deciding the game with Home Run Derby.
That would be cooler than another inning of baseball.
Zman, today's Conrad Dobler.
I am spending the week at my sister in law’s place in Charlotte. Today I get to supervise HVAC repair. She is probably spending more than she should to fix a 20 year old system.
I am currently listening in on a technician mini summit through the wall. I don’t think it’s going so well. But at least the yappy dogs are barking.
Do you know what number Dobler war for Zed’s beloved Bills? Coincidence? I think not.
What's the over-saturation level for storm and weather coverage? Honestly, I think Hampton Roads network affiliates max out on storm porn. What was a hurricane and is now a rain and wind system merited 30-minute treatment on all 3 local outlets. I get it if it's a legit hurricane, but jeez, fellas.
Less storm coverage. MORE BRUCE RADER!!!
i bet dave has some rader stories
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