Everyone on best behaviour

[Janik]

Everyone on best behaviour

As well as the lack of red cards and penalties, and the high number of goals, there is also the pretty even spread of those goals. 14 matches in, and only 3 teams have registered a 0, with only two matches ending as thrashings (last night and Russia-Czech Rep).

jasoń voorhees wrote: It's very hard for me to believe that Argentina doesn't care about reputation, when their national team can now go to any country in the world and sell out that stadium. No way that could've happened 30-20-10 years ago. They don't care about putting asses in the seats, making money, for something they barely even have to spend any on ?

The federation might, and may even suggest this to their coach. But much more important from a financial point of view will be pleasing their core supporters. And that can only be done by winning, with the style it's done in being pretty irrelevant. I can't imagine any sort of backlash in Argentina to a successful but international unpopular due to their tactics/habits version of the Albicelestes. So it will be 'Play pretty, as long as it doesn't hinder winning in any way whatsoever. If victory means kicking Falcao to bits, go for it.'

[dalliance]

Everyone on best behaviour

I thought the Xabi Alonso booking last night against Ireland was one of the harshest of the tournament.

[Jimski]

Everyone on best behaviour

I think I'm right in saying that only one player is suspended from the third round of group games for a yellow card in each of the first two: Jerome Boateng. That seems like far fewer than normal, right?

[Hofzinser]

Everyone on best behaviour

Unless I've missed something (quite possible) that's now 17 straight matches without a single red card or penalty. By any standards that's pretty remarkable.

[Janik]

Everyone on best behaviour

Yes, although that has more to do with poor officiating than anything else.
There should have been two penalties yesterday, and if the Greek one had been given it probably would have been acompanied by a red card as Karagounis was clean through. Menez of France was also incredibly lucky not to get a second yellow card in the first half of the Ukraine match.

[Hofzinser]

Everyone on best behaviour

I think that sort of is and isn't valid.

Yes, if the matches had been refereed perfectly there'd have been a couple of penalties that weren't in fact given. But you could say that about any set of matches, even a set with a greater than average number of penalties.

There will always be wrong or contentious decisions. For any number, x, of "penalty incidents" it will always be a smaller subset of x that actually resulted in penalties.

To have a stretch of 17 games with 0 penalties and a value for penalty incidents that can be counted on one hand is pretty remarkable however you slice it.

[imp]

Everyone on best behaviour

I'm not totally convinced Karagounis was fouled - sometimes a notoriously sneaky player like that hooks his ankle around a defender's calf as he goes past and then goes flying (Kubilay Turkyilmaz was a master of this). Certainly not convinced it was the defender's definite intent to bring him down. Though it should still have been a penalty either way, because there was contact, and the ref can't read the minds of two players simultaneously in the split second after the incident. But that would also have made the red card extremely harsh, even if justifiable under the current law. Possibly enough doubt all round to make the ref stay off the whistle.

Karagounis didn't help himself with a dramatic descent which, given the barely discernible contact (from the ref's point of view), might have been enough to sway the ref into thinking he'd dived.

[jason voorhees]

Everyone on best behaviour

The barrage of crosses and crying for the injustice of the ref's decision and truth in his convictions made the card well worth it.

One of the greatest performance art/theatrical dramas in tournament history.