Euro 2024

[Campsall rover]

The powers that be know that they need to Germans to remain in the competition.

   

[BillyStubbsTears]

VAR is f**king awful.

Denmark have a goal ruled out because a toenail hasn't been clipped. Then Germany get a penalty for the ball brushing by a hand that's in a perfectly reasonable position.

Awful, awful invention. It's seriously f**king up the top level game.

[DonnyNoel]

Playing the devils advocate though, its yet again English refs messing it up. VAR been ok until tonight I think?

[ncRover]

Havertz completely stopped during his penalty run up. I thought that wasn’t allowed?

Game feels bent at the top level

[drfchound]

Havertz completely stopped during his penalty run up. I thought that wasn’t allowed?

Yes he did, why didn’t VAR decide that the pen should have been retaken.

[Campsall rover]

Germany through.

Can see them winning it. Everything went their way tonight.

[sedwardsdrfc]

Havertz completely stopped during his penalty run up. I thought that wasn’t allowed?

Yes he did, why didn’t VAR decide that the pen should have been retaken.

Lot of players keep doing this and I thought it wasn’t allowed but never need it pulled up.

Is it just that they can’t dummy striking the ball but can stop during the run up? Seems unfair on the keeper time though

[ncRover]

What the f*** is this analysis?

If I wanted a nerdy anorak sport that goes so deep in to technicalities I’d watch F1.

[Goole Rover]

Not sure what's more annoying the VAR decisions or the god awful American woman giving an explanation of every little decision on ITV. Coverage getting more like American football every day

PC gone mad.

[sedwardsdrfc]

This American is so annoying. I know she’s only explaining the rules but you see it’s these types who are making the rules.

Just stinks of people who have never even played as a kid or on a Sunday morning. 

[Campsall rover]

Playing the devils advocate though, its yet again English refs messing it up. VAR been ok until tonight I think?

We used to have the best referees in the world. The most honest ones as well.
Now we seem to have the worst refs in Europe

[sedwardsdrfc]

But once he’s told to look at the handball he’s never going to give anything other than a pen. Don’t think it’s the refs fault on this one

[pib]

The ref is just applying the law. He’s accountable to that. The law and the technology is what’s ruining it.

[drfchound]

What the f*** is this analysis?

If I wanted a nerdy anorak sport that goes so deep in to technicalities I’d watch F1.

But you commented about Havertz stopping in his run up to take the pen.

[BillyStubbsTears]

The ref is just applying the law. He’s accountable to that. The law and the technology is what’s ruining it.

This.

[BillyStubbsTears]

But at least we haven't had "Oh he'll be disappointed with that" when a player does something disappointing, or "He's got to hit the target from there" when a player doesn't hit the target. From there.

Tsunami of classic Murphyisms in the Switzerland-Italy match.

At 2-0 he said:

"Italy have a huge mountain to climb"

"If the Swiss score the next, you'll think it's too much for Italy"

"Thing is for Italy, it's hard when it's hot. And your playing against a good team."

[ncRover]

What the f*** is this analysis?

If I wanted a nerdy anorak sport that goes so deep in to technicalities I’d watch F1.

But you commented about Havertz stopping in his run up to take the pen.

Fair point mate but that’s a pretty simple one under the control of the referee on the pitch. I brought it up because it seemed a strange one to miss given the context of all the nit-picking  that preceded.

Post-match, the depth they went in to on the handball talking about “natural silhouettes” and getting the snicko out was nauseating. All that is required is common sense. These technical busybodies have got their foot in the door and are beginning to micromanage everything. Now that it’s started it can’t be stopped.

Football is the greatest sport because it simple, accessible and spontaneous. Leave it that way.

[Silkscarf]

The ref is just applying the law. He’s accountable to that. The law and the technology is what’s ruining it.

It’s just the laws which are wrong. We can use technology if the rules make sense in the first place. 2 key ones need changing:

1. Handball. It’s got to ‘mean it’ like it used to. Like the famous ones that weren’t given (e.g. Maradona, Thierry Henry, Joe Jordan). We all know what intentional handball looks like. If it’s not intentional it’s not handball. It’s accidental.

2. Offside. I won’t even address the phases of play nonsense and being active. Just the bit where the technology draws the line - say it’s got to be a ball’s width ahead of the defender. Give the advantage back to scoring goals instead of looking for reasons to disallow them.

[i_ateallthepies]

The ref is just applying the law. He’s accountable to that. The law and the technology is what’s ruining it.

It’s just the laws which are wrong. We can use technology if the rules make sense in the first place. 2 key ones need changing:

1. Handball. It’s got to ‘mean it’ like it used to. Like the famous ones that weren’t given (e.g. Maradona, Thierry Henry, Joe Jordan). We all know what intentional handball looks like. If it’s not intentional it’s not handball. It’s accidental.

2. Offside. I won’t even address the phases of play nonsense and being active. Just the bit where the technology draws the line - say it’s got to be a ball’s width ahead of the defender. Give the advantage back to scoring goals instead of looking for reasons to disallow them.

An accidental handball that results in an advantage to the handballing side should be penalised.

[ncRover]

The ref is just applying the law. He’s accountable to that. The law and the technology is what’s ruining it.

It’s just the laws which are wrong. We can use technology if the rules make sense in the first place. 2 key ones need changing:

1. Handball. It’s got to ‘mean it’ like it used to. Like the famous ones that weren’t given (e.g. Maradona, Thierry Henry, Joe Jordan). We all know what intentional handball looks like. If it’s not intentional it’s not handball. It’s accidental.

2. Offside. I won’t even address the phases of play nonsense and being active. Just the bit where the technology draws the line - say it’s got to be a ball’s width ahead of the defender. Give the advantage back to scoring goals instead of looking for reasons to disallow them.

An accidental handball that results in an advantage to the handballing side should be penalised.

If you don’t penalise accidental handballs anywhere and just accept it as part of the game and something that balances itself out over time then it doesn’t advantage anyone.

If a player doesn’t have time to move their hand out of the way, then the potential punishment for that (conceding a penalty and losing a game) is completely disproportionate to the perceived offence. Yes this could also balance itself back out if you punished them all too, but the first option doesn’t blow things out of proportion and stays within the spirit of the game.

[DonnyBazR0ver]

The ref is just applying the law. He’s accountable to that. The law and the technology is what’s ruining it.

It’s just the laws which are wrong. We can use technology if the rules make sense in the first place. 2 key ones need changing:

1. Handball. It’s got to ‘mean it’ like it used to. Like the famous ones that weren’t given (e.g. Maradona, Thierry Henry, Joe Jordan). We all know what intentional handball looks like. If it’s not intentional it’s not handball. It’s accidental.

2. Offside. I won’t even address the phases of play nonsense and being active. Just the bit where the technology draws the line - say it’s got to be a ball’s width ahead of the defender. Give the advantage back to scoring goals instead of looking for reasons to disallow them.

Handball. The only problem with that is when a hand or arm gets in the way of a goal bound shot, even if it's accidental, or denies a clear goalscoring opportunity (harder to define)

I remember James Hayter being denied a headed goal at Luton when a defender jumped up on the goal line with his arms out and the ball was going in until it hit the defenders elbow. Yes, the defender had his arms out as leverage when he jumped, as you do, so is that accidental?

Has to be a penalty surely?

[Not Now Kato]

I think football has bigger issues than handball and offside to sort out.  Like wrestling, shirt pulling, deliberate fouls outside the box when 'taking one for the team' to stop an attack, time wasting and time keeping!
 
Move timekeeping away from the ref to stop time wasting - ball out of play, clock stops running, introduce a sin bin for shirt pulling and wrestling and make it an automatic red card for a deliberate foul meant to stop an attack.
 
These measures work in other sports and have made them better, why not football?

[Little Wolf]

Spain did not get a player booked until the 90th minute last match and the amount of holding and shirt pulling was ridiculous.

[EasyforDennis]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned who the VAR ref was last night. The one and only Stuart Atwell. Fast tracked to the Premiership some years and subsequently demoted as he was making too many mistakes and then all is forgiven and he reappears back in the prem. He is totally useless and is a shining example of how far the standard of English referees has fallen. How he got to be officiating at the Euros god knows..........or maybe there was nobody available from the Faroe islands.

[IDM]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned who the VAR ref was last night. The one and only Stuart Atwell. Fast tracked to the Premiership some years and subsequently demoted as he was making too many mistakes and then all is forgiven and he reappears back in the prem. He is totally useless and is a shining example of how far the standard of English referees has fallen. How he got to be officiating at the Euros god knows..........or maybe there was nobody available from the Faroe islands.

doesn't matter who it was.  The officials followed the "rules" as they are, with the VAR as it is instructed to be used.

As has been said, the laws are, in effect, dogshite.

[DRFC_AjA]

This ref's loving a card, jeez

[drfchound]

But at least we haven't had "Oh he'll be disappointed with that" when a player does something disappointing, or "He's got to hit the target from there" when a player doesn't hit the target. From there.

Tsunami of classic Murphyisms in the Switzerland-Italy match.

At 2-0 he said:

"Italy have a huge mountain to climb"

"If the Swiss score the next, you'll think it's too much for Italy"

"Thing is for Italy, it's hard when it's hot. And your playing against a good team."

IMO, nothing wrong with the first two comment but agreed that the third one was a bit unusual.
His best one, and I thought it was quite funny, came when someone smashed a 20 yard shot over the bar and Murphy said “ he must be wearing some of those Adidas crowdfinders “.

[drfchound]

VAR is f**king awful.

Denmark have a goal ruled out because a toenail hasn't been clipped. Then Germany get a penalty for the ball brushing by a hand that's in a perfectly reasonable position.

Awful, awful invention. It's seriously f**king up the top level game.

Totally agree with this.
Two ridiculous decisions.
I can’t recall the Germans even appealing for the penalty.

[Reg of the Rovers]

I may be misremembering other examples, but this tournament feels like the rise of the underdog - smaller countries rising up and really competing - Romania looking good currently, Austria been strong, Georgia were good value, Slovenia ran Portugal all the way, Swiss in quarters etc, feels a much more level playing field which is making for some really competitive and enjoyable games.

[DRFC_AjA]

I may be misremembering other examples, but this tournament feels like the rise of the underdog - smaller countries rising up and really competing - Romania looking good currently, Austria been strong, Georgia were good value, Slovenia ran Portugal all the way, Swiss in quarters etc, feels a much more level playing field which is making for some really competitive and enjoyable games.

Sshhh, if UEFA notice they'll only think of ways to keep the underdogs down and get the bigger nations to the finals. Larger squads to squash the lesser nations, seedings like they have in the champions league now.

PS...Danny Murphy must have the best agent in the world. He's god awful. Victor Meldrew of commentary and what "experitse" he offers lord only knows