The World Cup

[GrunkyPeep]

Influence over referees is correct, does anyone else get this "foul"?

There was another clear example of unfair reffing when Messi ran directly into Laporte who was stood still and Messi was given the foul.

When Spain were attacking and the Arg defender stepped in the way and held out his arm to stop the player getting past, no foul. 0:30 on the vid that Rodley just posted.

 

[Swannyblade]

2 reasons:

1. A sop to Uruguay as it's the centenary of the first tournament

2. It allowed Infantino to say South America had had its turn in the continental rotation, meaning that 2034 could go to Saudi, all other continents aside from Oceania (which has no viable host) having hosted some of the tournament since Qatar.

Oh yeah, silly me. I guess I should have asked what the footballing logic behind the decision is...and true to FIFA's form on such issues, there is none. Just another opportunity to extract more £££

 

[SwissBlade]

Some of these tackles are unreal.

Some proper tasty ones in that montage.

Me: Disgusting! Dirty Argies
Also me: ooh but i like it

 

[S64 Blade]

What I don’t get is the media / pundits trotting out “They really are effective at the dark arts” and “They know just how to stay on the right side of the line”. They should call them what they are, f*cking cheating buggers without a grain of sportsmanship who shame the game of football.

100%. Numerous occasions of physical assault that you’d get locked up for if it was on the street.

 

[Eddiecolquhounsleg]

Do you remember when the self effacing, mild mannered gentleman Alf Ramsey called them ‘Animals’ back in 1966? Well he was right then and he’s still right now.

 

[Rodley]

Some proper tasty ones in that montage.

Me: Disgusting! Dirty Argies
Also me: ooh but i like it

I don’t mind a bit of rough & ready, but the problem is no other country got the same leniency.

 

[Grey Blade]

Some of these tackles are unreal.

It's more entertaining than the game
6 of one and half a dozen of the other

 

[Swannyblade]

It's more entertaining than the game
6 of one and half a dozen of the other

6 of one and half a dozen of also one

 

[Davalon]

 

[UTB Blade]

I don't think its been a good world cup, i think a terrible world cup has been rescued by a few decent games from the Quarter finals onwards, really.

Yes its been a huge spectacle for the USA and i think it will have been good for the USA to get some more interest in football as well as football culture. But its worried me seeing these American elements creep into the game - hydration breaks and longer half times are clearly not needed, nor wanted. VAR has been shown to be completely corrupt.

Watching the final last night, it was certainly the two best sides that made it there, they beat the best challengers to get there and even though the final was a poor watch for neutrals, it was an example of modern football, not a positive one, but showed how football is now. Very cagey, as many finals are and have been for a few years.


Yep, i think that Spain showed how best to play Argentina, suppress them with possession and keep probing to find that moment of brilliance. England don't play the same way as Spain, but as you say, it shows that if we'd persisted with our tactics until much later in the game we'd probably have found a second or at least one Argentinian player would've lost his head and gone for a red. But this is also the reason that Argentina made the final as they also put fear into England to defend rather than go for it. I don't think that should be underestimated

And as if all that's not bad enough, there's this abomination to worry about!

 

[Bladey_blade]

Missed this last night, without the shove does the header fall as perfect?

 

[Edgar Allan Poo]

Missed this last night, without the shove does the header fall as perfect?

Scored the winner in a World Cup final - only a few get to sing that!

 

[BazWainwright]

Seeing Ronaldo (the tubby one) take the World Cup trophy to Trump during the game to let him touch it was rather sickly

When he drove out on the Mariokart, I thought it was Katie Price and Harvey

 

[gordoncharles]

 

[SwissBlade]

When he drove out on the Mariokart, I thought it was Katie Price and Harvey

Not sure why R9 and R10 dressed as Jimmy Saville though

 

[Selly]

Missed this last night, without the shove does the header fall as perfect?

No, but without the shove maybe Williams gets his header on target...

 

[Ndiayewillalwaysloveyou]

Anyone else noticed Rice played full game for England and seemed full of energy vs France?

Rest of tournament he was fucked/injured.

 

[Grey Blade]

Anyone else noticed Rice played full game for England and seemed full of energy vs France?

Rest of tournament he was fucked/injured.

He was ill earlier in the competition. There was one point in extra time when he looked dead on his feet and I thought he'd be subbed but he seemed to get a second wind and made it to the end.

 

[HodgysBrokenThumb]

Do you remember when the self effacing, mild mannered gentleman Alf Ramsey called them ‘Animals’ back in 1966? Well he was right then and he’s still right now.

I totally dislike the Argentinian approach to football, but the official stats from that game show that England committed almost twice as many fouls as Argentina (36 v 20).

 

[Klaatu Barada Nikto]

I totally dislike the Argentinian approach to football, but the official stats from that game show that England committed almost twice as many fouls as Argentina (36 v 20).

The argument that virtually everyone is making is that the refs were too lenient on Argentina....

 

[Eddiecolquhounsleg]

I totally dislike the Argentinian approach to football, but the official stats from that game show that England committed almost twice as many fouls as Argentina (36 v 20).

Yes. But ours were proper manly English fouls, whereas theirs were sneaky, snidey South American fouls. So there.

 

[Frank the tank]

I totally dislike the Argentinian approach to football, but the official stats from that game show that England committed almost twice as many fouls as Argentina (36 v 20).

The official stats are based on the fouls given by the ref and he missed at least twenty before he booked Anderson

 

[The Crab]

I don’t need stats fo tell me what snidey fucking shithouses the Argentinians are. History is my stats.

Well done Spain

 

[BazWainwright]

I totally dislike the Argentinian approach to football, but the official stats from that game show that England committed almost twice as many fouls as Argentina (36 v 20).

Yeah, well, there's 'fouls' and there's 'legal and benign footballing challenges whereby the Argentinian player goes down like a sack of cack screaming and crying and the ref gives the free kick'

 

[HodgysBrokenThumb]

The argument that virtually everyone is making is that the refs were too lenient on Argentina....

I was referring to the 1966 game…

 

[HodgysBrokenThumb]

Yeah, well, there's 'fouls' and there's 'legal and benign footballing challenges whereby the Argentinian player goes down like a sack of cack screaming and crying and the ref gives the free kick'

Was that the case in 1966? I didn’t see the game, and can’t remember the match in any detail from the highlights on tv

 

[Berkshire Blade]

Something tells me the cabin door was locked until well after everyone had gone

 

[Kenilworth]

Amazes me how many people on here are fluent in Portuguese

 

[Edgar Allan Poo]

Amazes me how many people on here are fluent in Portuguese

Oh, that's what is - I thought I'd become dyslexic.

 

[BazWainwright]

Was that the case in 1966? I didn’t see the game, and can’t remember the match in any detail from the highlights on tv

No, as I recall, they were pretty brutal and un-self-aware that even then, booting people, roughing up players and fighting wasn't quite how the beautiful game was meant to be played. Sound familiar?

Their Captain Rattin was dismissed (for 'looking at the ref in a not nice way' apparently) and tensions were high. I can remember Sir Alf stopping our players swapping shirts with the 'animals' as he called them.