Thread: World Cup 2010

Well, yes, but one could argue that they did this because the Dutch didn't get the yellow and red cards they deserved so much. The Dutch behaved like a bunch of thugs fighting for the ball.

Apparently the blame for Holland losing the game has now shifted onto the referee, nothing to do with the conduct of the players.

Congratulations to Spain, they are good figthers.

Originally Posted by Bruno

Well, yes, but one could argue that they did this because the Dutch didn't get the yellow and red cards they deserved so much. The Dutch behaved like a bunch of thugs fighting for the ball.

That's crap. Don't get me wrong. I don't like thuggery and I don't like play acting. Bot the two have nothing to do with each other. By that same argument you could say that the Dutch players were playing rough because the Spanish ones were play acting. The though that pops into my head is "If we're going to get yellow cards....we might as well deserve them."

So that's no reason at all. A good team doesn't need to resort to play acting, just like a good team doesn't need to resort to beatdowns.

Originally Posted by Mandrake

I agree with you, but then, what do we do about things like this?:



What a night, here in Spain we have been waiting for this for so long, myself I was not sure I'll see it during my lifetime....

As for this.....I see one player trying to kick the ball....and another running in trying to get a low header in.


Stuff happens, in soccer too.

Originally Posted by LX_Emergency

As for this.....I see one player trying to kick the ball....and another running in trying to get a low header in.

The vast majority of spectators see a flagrant high kick, with no thought for the consequences.
If you support Spain or the Netherlands perhaps you may see things differently.
Strictly neutral (my team played badly and went home early) I think the Dutch were lucky to still have 10 men on the field at the end of the game.

Originally Posted by LX_Emergency

As for this.....I see one player trying to kick the ball....and another running in trying to get a low header in.


Stuff happens, in soccer too.

You see that through orange goggles. Intent is irrelevant with a strike of that nature. De Jong admitted himself that he was lucky to get a yellow.

The only reason he didn't get sent off was because it happened so early and it would have been at least 60 minutes of 11v10.

At least served as inspiration for the new "FIFA Fighter 2010" game:

I would really like to know how many of you who are saying they were dirty or faking it play regularly.

Because until you play at a high level(no a weekend mens team doesn't count) you can't say what is fair or not.

Soccer is one of the roughest sports out there even tho it's non contact. So yes people are gonna get kicked in the chest the goalie is gonna punch someone instead of the ball when up for the header. It's all just part of the game. And like it or not the acting is too.

Originally Posted by basil

I would really like to know how many of you who are saying they were dirty or faking it play regularly.

Because until you play at a high level(no a weekend mens team doesn't count) you can't say what is fair or not.

I have to disagree with you there. I've played for 31 years non stop, since I was 9. I've played in schoolboy teams up to amateur Sunday League. I still play a weekly friendly (but refereed) game. And last month I had the fortune to play at an ex-Premiership ground (The Madejski stadium).

At every level the refereeing was consistent: if you go into a tackle with studs up, or if you have not made enough effort to win the ball (as opposed to playing the man), it's a foul. It matters not whether a tackle deemed dangerous was intentionally so, or a genuine error on the part of the tackler. It's punishable.

I have been punched, elbowed, kicked, stamped on, had my nuts crushed a la Vinny Jones and Gazza, studs raked down my shins, and headbutted. Believe me, I and most of my peers who have also played over thirty years know exactly what is fair and what is not!

De Jong's tackle is about as easy a call as it gets. Studs up at chest level far from the ball. My 8-y-o son, my 66-y-o father, and my colleague in the office who is a qualified ref (certificated by the FA) unsurprisingly shared the same view. Instant red card.

Only Howard Webb seemed to think otherwise. (OK, and a few Oraanje's )