World Cup 2026
- Thread starter jamesdeluxe
- Start date
The slow motion was what made it look bad. The ref on the field didn't make ANY call in real time. Pundits seemed nearly unanimous that it should have been yellow in review.
Of my many grievances in this thread, reffing is the area needing the most attention. It's preposterous to expect one person -- often from 40 or 50 yards away -- to make accurate calls on fouls.
The end of Portugal - Croatia must really have made James' day!
The Croatian player who fielded this ball was not offside when the original pass was made but was offside as the ball grazed Croatia #20's head as shown above. The ensuing goal would have tied the game in the last minute of play. The ball then grazed Portugal #13's head but did not negate the offside because his contact was not intentional. But I guess it doesn't matter whether the offensive player's (#20) contact (very marginal, only confirmed by the microchip in the ball) is intentional or not.
The Croatian player who fielded this ball was not offside when the original pass was made but was offside as the ball grazed Croatia #20's head as shown above. The ensuing goal would have tied the game in the last minute of play. The ball then grazed Portugal #13's head but did not negate the offside because his contact was not intentional. But I guess it doesn't matter whether the offensive player's (#20) contact (very marginal, only confirmed by the microchip in the ball) is intentional or not.
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I'm running out of ashtrays to throw at my TV. I really wanted Croatia to win.
The whole issue of determining a player's intentionality in a variety of situations (part of the red-card brouhaha in the recent U.S./Bosnia match) is maddening. I return to my point that they need a hockey-like blue line and goal crease to prevent offside calls deep in the offensive zone. The only "offside" would be if a player steps into the crease without the ball already there.
What's really infuriating is how the sport's purists explain away the sundry inconsistencies and other rules nonsense with bollox like "that's what makes it the beautiful game!" or "futbol is like life -- sometimes it's unfair or unexplainable!"
And yes, I plan to continue to grumble up through the final match at nearby "New York New Jersey Stadium," which is getting awful reviews from attendees and players. One British journalist called it a “roofless, mall-neighbouring, soulless concrete bowl.” I can't dispute that although complaining about it not having a roof is a first-world gripe.
ChrisC
Well-known member
They cannot change the rules.
How is FIFA to remain more corrupt than the IOC (International Olympic Committee)?
FIFA members need various methods to fix soccer matches and accept bribes (see Qatar host / 2015 scandals).
Weather forecast temperature for Philadelphia for tomorrow's game is 100/80.
At least it's not today in NYC (101/85).The rule that the incidental contact has to be intentional for the defensive player but is irrelevant for the offensive player seems weird. In this case the defensive player contact was obvious and the offensive player contact was so slight that it had to be confirmed with a microchip in the ball.
In general I like the microchip in the ball. It pinpoints the time that the offensive player is passing the ball. That is the exact time in the replay when other offensive players are determined to be offside or not. If a ref has to be looking at forward players to see whether they are offside, it seems unlikely that same ref will get the timing exactly right about when the pass was made. But I suspect in the prior era refs would hesitate to nullify goals unless they were quite sure of the offside. Now they pass the buck to VAR and I suspect more borderline cases are called offside now.
I wonder if they'd push the kickoff back to 8 pm?
East Rutherford, NJ will be a more tolerable 88 with possible rain and thunderstorms for Sunday's match.