Manchester United

[moon]

I am not a fan of Manchester United on the domestic stage, in fact after dropping out of the F.A. cup to pursue some money-spinning competition elsewhere I hope that they are cursed never to win the cup again. However, I support all UK teams in European competitions, Man. United included. Last night's match was a farce and they have my full sympathy. If the referee and linesman made those sort of errors in any other job they would never work again. Scole's goal was legitimate and Ronaldo was assassinated, there is no other word for it. I wont bore non-fans with the details but my question is why is there no video consultation in football ? Football officials are ruining the game. The rugby was a treat for all the family due to instant video playback on difficult decisions for the ref. . No mistakes were made. Tennis has electronic assistance. These sports have nothing like the funds that football has so why is football lagging behind ? I can only surmise that FIFA is rotten. With hundreds of millions of pounds at stake on matches there must be graft at work. Last night's match tapes should be used as evidence in a court.

[bvw]

I couldn't agree more moon.

I'm not a Man Utd fan either.......but they was robbed last night.

[Sir Radfordin]

I'm more than happy to see them loose. But thats for different reasons ;)

The England v Ireland rugby game played on Saturday has also been blamed on a bad decision by the ref (forward pass giving Ireland a try) but it was pointed out the ref was on the spot and perhaps he did make a mistake but you have to play in those conditions. Even with electronic assistance in tennis and more officals than any other sport seems to have players still claim mistakes are made.

Surely football officals aren't making more mistakes now than they did in the past? It should just be seen as a variable of the game that a team has to overcome.

[Hurdy]

It was with great joy that I watched Man U lose last night :P

However, I do agree that with today's technology that crucial decisions should be passed over to a fourth official.

EDit : Sp

[moon]

Yeah. The mistakes are the same but they've never been worth hundreds of millions of pounds before. Just because a ref. is knock-kneed and parts his hair down the middle don't mean that he hasn't got a canny grasp of economics. :D

Edit; That's not entirely fair. Football refs.and linesmen can be pressured in many ways. Electronic monitoring would remove many doubts about the current state of the game.

[Sir Radfordin]

It is only 'worth hundreds of millions of pounds' because top-level football is no longer a game, it is no longer a sport, it is a business and a chance for corporations to make money.

Perhaps if the players didn't take every chance they could to claim foul play but go on with things and did what they are paid to do then the ref and linesmen would have more chance of spotting real errors because they weren't spending so much time watching out for the next clown to do some more amature dramatics in the hope of getting another free kick/penalty.

So often do you hear the words "a bad decision by the ref cost the loosing team the game" utter rubbish. They should have just played better from the word go!

[artist]

I AM a Man U fan! I too think that Scholes' goal was legit. But having said that - they weren't playing their best. Always bad when there seems to be more players on the other team :rolleyes:

The so-called fouls were a farce and I think the time has come to use the video footage. Might get a decent game here and ther then.

[Pilch]

I couldnt agree more about the video footage. I have seen many problems that have caused teams to lose points. Player's diving, the hand ball's, offsides that are onisde's etc.

Last season liverpool i think where 2-1 up against arsenal. Then the fox in the box incedient where franny jeffer's decided he wanted to dive and everyone saw how blantant it was. The penalty went in, giving arsenal a point that didnt really help in the end and liverpool missed out on champions league.

But i am glad Man U had descision's go against them for once... Being that they are a team that if they want something they hound the ref's to give it to them thus making the ref's scared....

[andsome]

I can never understand it when the commentator says that "so and so has only just come on and he's already EARNED a penalty". I always thought that according to the rules of the game a fee kick or penalty was awarded by the referee because of a foul. If the players aren't corrupt, how on earth can a penalty or free kick be earned? Football is just too commercial to bother with these days.

[Damo]

Agree moon!

Personally I'm not a fan of soccer but have followed American Football for years, the video playback is an invaluble tool and one which rugby is now utilising with agreeable results, I can't for the life of me reason why it cannot be used in soccer, maybe the FA are unwilling to dig into there fat pockets and cover the costs?

[Guest ellas]

damo I dont think the fa have the power for major changes like that it would have to come from fifa.

[ranger]

Ellas, like any other football association the FA can make a proposal and go to Fifa/Uefa and propose changes in their structure/rules, this is not to say they would get the permission to do it, but the FA are a big player in these organisations and I'm sure they would be able to get the neccessary votes. Personally i'm not sure if video replays etc would be a good idea, part of the magic of football is the speed it's played and to continually wait on a refs decision would only lead to frustration and anger

[artist]

Might have a place for 'iffy' penalty decisions and 'offsides' though.

[moon]

part of the magic of football is the speed it's played and to continually wait on a refs decision would only lead to frustration and anger

Continually yes, but critical decisions should be scrutinised. Applied to the Porto game;

Scole's goal was onside. Someone should have pointed that out to the linesman. What is the point of continuing the game when such an error has been made ? 20 million viewers can see that the linesman is wrong.

Ronaldo was crippled without even the benefit of a free kick. The ref.missed the assassination. He should have been shown the video and the appropriate action taken.

The Porto free kick which won them the contest , with one minute left, surely deserved thirty seconds delay for a review ? Why should the result be left in the hands of an official who has already made two major errors in the same game ?

In a society wherein high court judges are on the lookout for a fat backhander are you satisfied that football officials are above suspicion ?

[artist]

Moon, you're sounding more and more like a ManU fan! :lol: :lol: :lol:

[moon]

LOL ! :D Well I ain't. You Poms are pretty good at the game though and I'm mad as hell that my enjoyment was spoiled by two of the prats in charge.

See ? I'm falling into the same trap calling them 'prats'. I think that their finances ought to be investigated.

[Sir T Fireball]

If this had happened to ANY other team I might be able to take it seriously. Man U are long over-due having a few ref decisions go against them. :D

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ok, I'll stop laughing now....

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[Tankus]

football sucks

[Guest Shirley_Crabtree]

football sucks

Agreed!!

Football is a shamefull game..We've all seen the slowed-down video clips of players being lightly tagged and suddenly grasping their faces and rolling about on the floor with pretend screams of agony :angry:

It's almost embarrassing to watch...not that I do :rolleyes:

We have the technology,NOW,for Refs to take a proper look at incidents/non incidents via video cameras and to make a reasoned judgement with hindsight..

Surely this is the way to go :blink:

I like watching Snooker on TV and note that when a player fouls,and the official doesn't see the foul,99 times out of a 100 the player puts his hand up and calls it...It's the gentlemanly thing to do...

Football players,it seems,aren't gentlemen.....most are chancers,divers and cheats :blink: Oh and allegedly rapists :o

Have you EVER seen a footy player own up to a handball be it accidental or meant...even though we,as TV viewers,can see the whole thing in glorious slow-motion???

Do attacking players EVER put their hands up and declare themselves offside like they do in rugby???...Do they eckers like....even when they KNOW they are...

The game is a joke,really...it needs massively updating :(

Shirl.

[Pilch]

Have you EVER seen a footy player own up to a handball be it accidental or meant...even though we,as TV viewers,can see the whole thing in glorious slow-motion???

Yus... the other day.. Milan Baros against portsmouth...

Case of ref being blind not being able to see the difference between Black arm and White arm. Baros told the ref..

Ref didnt believe..

Started getting nasty..

Ref went to linesman

Ref swallowed humble pie after he stuff up (and that wasnt his only mistake in that match)

Another liverpool thing.. )(a few years back against arsenal)Seaman allegdly tripped up robbie fowler.... Ref gave pen.... Fowler tried to make the Ref see sense in that he had jumped over seaman to avoid standing on him.... ref again couldnt see sense.. penalty stood....

[moon]

Referees have a tradition to maintain. These days, with millions of viewers watching, they can't afford to get it right. :D

[moon]

....as evidenced yet again by last night's Liverpool exit. When a foul takes place five yards outside of the penalty area a free kick must be awarded, not a penalty, even if the fouling continues into the penalty area. This was another example of football being spoiled by officials. Video playback is long overdue.

[Intratech]

Or better official being used instead of half blind seniors (no offence to any aged members, Moon especially :P ) to officiate in these matches.

I understand where you're comming from mate but take a look at the use of video replays and how they are utilised. Then take a look at how football is played. Can you imagine stopping for 3 minutes every couple of minutes for some bloke to check the replay and make a decision? That would ruin the game totally. What i'd like to see is the use of video replay after the match to ban and find (£) players who need to be near a pool (diving) instead of on the field of play. :angry:

[andsome]

Or better official being used instead of half blind seniors (no offence to any aged members, Moon especially :P ) to officiate in these matches.

I understand where you're comming from mate but take a look at the use of video replays and how they are utilised. Then take a look at how football is played. Can you imagine stopping for 3 minutes every couple of minutes for some bloke to check the replay and make a decision? That would ruin the game totally. What i'd like to see is the use of video replay after the match to ban and find (£) players who need to be near a pool (diving) instead of on the field of play. :angry:

Sound common sense. Cricket is dead slow anyway, so there is no problem waiting for a ruling from third umpire. Can you imagine what a farce a football match would be with the antics of some of todays Prima Donna's?

[Pilch]

Moon.. I think the referee'ing last nite was bit of a farce... Like that incident, the ref originally waved play on and let the player go for goal. So to then stop the game and then award a penalty is completely wrong.

I think the ref's now-aday's should have a code to go by, not common sense as it just doesnt seem to prevail at time's. It seems each ref was different in what they regard as a foul and what isn't.

Oh how i wish collinga was the ref last nite, at least it would have been a bit more fun!