The Final, then

[Janik]

Oh, I don't just mean the Dutch. I mean pretty well every defender ever. It's all part of the 'must put pressure on' thing, even when no legal way of doing that is available. It is comfortably the biggest most consistent and unpunished area of cheating that Football has had ever since I've been watching it.

As for the 'professional foul' that would be the one where the second last defender tripped the forward, yes? Yellow was right.

The underdog backing seems to blind people to bad decisions against the USA. I understand that. No-one wants to see the favourite get decisions. It's been happening on here all tournament. As has the US getting very, very little from referees. One iffy pen against Spain is the sum as far as I can remember. And that was a game when the US should clearly have had three others, but only were given one.

Personally I neither like nor dislike this US team. I just want to see the rules applied fairly and consistently.

[Bizarre Löw Triangle]

Think we're moving towards a position where any physical contact in the box is a foul and it's a nonsense. Not a penalty. Morgan can go down if she wants but doesn't change it either way.

[Janik]

No because it wasn't much of a push.

But it was a push. That sentence completely acknowledges this, as 'much' is a complete irrelevance to the laws of Football. You either don't push your opponents, or you do in which case you foul. It was a mistake by the ref not to give a penalty and a bad one by VAR not to tell here to take another look at it. About the only one she has made in the half, to be fair. The early yellow worked a treat in cleaning the Dutch tackling up.

[Patrick Thistle]

Think we're moving towards a position where any physical contact in the box is a foul and it's a nonsense. Not a penalty. Morgan can go down if she wants but doesn't change it either way.

I agree. And we see forwards pushing defenders all the time as well.

[Logan Mountstuart]

Morgan spends half her time on the floor or yakking to the ref. She's a superstar, you know.

Dutch are doing fine. Imperative to keep it level for as long as possible. You can't just let the US play. You have to match them physically. If England had realised this they wouldn't have gone 2-0 down.


It infuriates me the way the British media have talked this Dutch team down as if 3-0 never happened in the last Euros.

[Patrick Thistle]

But it was a push. That sentence completely acknowledges this, as 'much' is a complete irrelevance to the laws of Football. You either don't push your opponents, or you do in which case you foul. It was a mistake by the ref not to give a penalty and a bad one by VAR not to tell here to take another look at it. About the only one she has made in the half, to be fair. The early yellow worked a treat in cleaning the Dutch tackling up.

I dunno. I think Morgan was pushed but I don't think it was "a push" if you get what I mean. Two players are contesting and they push against each other. Unless one decides to flop like a fish.

[Janik]

Think we're moving towards a position where any physical contact in the box is a foul and it's a nonsense. Not a penalty. Morgan can go down if she wants but doesn't change it either way.

Rewrite the rules then. The only legal physical contact is shoulder-to-shoulder. That is very clear as things are currently written. And that wasn't near to being shoulder-to-shoulder so should have been a penalty.

Any physical contact that isn't shoulder-to-shoulder outside the box is also a foul. We don't worry about that anything like as much as free-kicks don't produce near certain goals in the same way penalties do.

[Logan Mountstuart]

Bloody Wimbledon Sundays, eh Janik. OK to vent here. Smiley thing.

[Janik]

I dunno. I think Morgan was pushed but I don't think it was "a push" if you get what I mean. Two players are contesting and they push against each other. Unless one decides to flop like a fish.

Morgan was in front of the Dutch defender. Only one player pushed the other. Morgan may have slowed to invite it (very dubious), but another rule of the game is that players are "entitled to their position on the pitch".

Oh, and I do get what you mean. It's exactly the misapprehension of the rules of the sport that I've thought I was arguing against all the way through this! Glad to have it confirmed.

[Janik]

I agree. And we see forwards pushing defenders all the time as well.

And those get called way more often, don't they? If refs were as willing to give penalties against defenders for bumping forwards as they were to give defenders free-kicks for forwards doing the same... well, we would get a lot more goals scored for one thing. Both from the spot and in open play.

[Patrick Thistle]

Ouch. That looks really nasty for the USA CB

[Patrick Thistle]

That looked like a penaity

[Patrick Thistle]

Here we go. Janik's theory put to the test

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

Think we're moving towards a position where any physical contact in the box is a foul and it's a nonsense. Not a penalty. Morgan can go down if she wants but doesn't change it either way.

But that is already the case and has been for a very long time. It's the screams and roars of fans that prevent the rules from actually being implemented. People just like to blame the referees or the attacker if there wasn't a severed limb. Rather than the defender, who just fouls people to get away from starting out in the wrong position. This should be a penatly. You can't just kick someone like that, even if you did try to play the ball.

[Patrick Thistle]

Hits Morgan's hip not her arm

[Janik]

Well, that, at least, is consistent with the rest of the tournament.

[Patrick Thistle]

Van de Graft tells the ref to fuck off as she's carded

[Patrick Thistle]

Goalie didn't move.

[Janik]

Was that straight down the middle from Rapinoe?

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

Goalie didn't move.

It looked like her efforts to move forward stopped her from moving from side to side.

[Logan Mountstuart]

Bloody Morgan. Drama Queen gets a penalty. She was going down before the defender even got there. I like Heath, and I really like Press. But Morgan can fuck off.

[Patrick Thistle]

Goalie didn't move.

Well she did but realised she was going the wrong way so stopped

[Patrick Thistle]

Was that straight down the middle from Rapinoe?

No. It was to the right of the keeper

[Patrick Thistle]

God. Why didn't she shoot then? (Miedema)

[Janik]

Here we go. Janik's theory put to the test

If the previous one had gone to VAR, I think the ref would have given that in the end as well. It was clear what happened in the slo-mo, not in real time. I blame them, not her.

For the one that was given, the ref was in no position not to award it after the replays made it clear the Dutch defender hadn't played the ball. Which was what she clearly thought had happened as the original decision was corner. My read on her body language when awarding it was she wasn't entirely happy to do so. I'm more on board with that sort of tackle leading to a penalty being harsh than the first half one. There was no intent there to foul. It wasn't an attempt to put Morgan off, it was an effort to reach the dropping ball. But it was dangerous (how could boot to shoulder not be?), so had to be given.