Switzerland vs. Czech Republic @ Basel ( Sat 7th June )[R]

[elperucho]

FT 1-0

Czech Republic wins...

[Gandalf The Red]

lol the host got rsoled, hehe

[FNU]

Wooo CECH with the clean sheet :D

[Martininho]

So, the inadvertent ball-to-hand is a missed call, but the clear block of the shot by the use upper arm is okay because his "arm was tucked in"?

WTF, can someone explain the handball law to Tommy Smythe? Intentional, Tommy, Intentional. This idiot is a walking argument for the "mute" button.

[FNU]

So, the inadvertent ball-to-hand is a missed call, but the clear block of the shot by the use upper arm is okay because his "arm was tucked in"?

WTF, can someone explain the handball law to Tommy Smythe? Intentional, Tommy, Intentional. This idiot is a walking argument for the "mute" button.
Tommy Shite needs to retire.

[stratty894]

This postgame commentary is awkward.

[Andy Bennett]

The Czech looked the better footballing side but looked less likely to score. The Swiss played with great heart but, essentially, are just not very good.

They showed the first handball again from a different angle and it looked a bit more like a good shout but, tbh, I think it would still have been a bit hard on the Czech defender. His arm is up but he's just made quite heavy contact with the attacker in mid air so his arm is likely to move about a bit while trying to maintain balance.

[NGV]

So, the inadvertent ball-to-hand is a missed call, but the clear block of the shot by the use upper arm is okay because his "arm was tucked in"?

WTF, can someone explain the handball law to Tommy Smythe? Intentional, Tommy, Intentional. This idiot is a walking argument for the "mute" button.
I think he's probably right - the first one should have been a handball because the arm was in an obviously abnormal playing position (there's no valid reason for a defenders hand to be there while going up for a ball). The second one I didn't see clearly on the replay, but when a shot hits the upper arm while it's tucked against the body, handball calls aren't that common (because it's hard to move that part of the arm completely out of the way of the shot).

[WorldCup_Fanatic]

One shot on goal! Legend.

[Teso Dos Bichos]

Great to see the controversy start early. Great to see said controversy not go in favour of the home nation.

[FNU]

Great to see the controversy start early. Great to see said controversy not go in favour of the home nation.
Great to see it happen to Blatter's nation. :D

[jpAustria]

I think he's probably right - the first one should have been a handball because the arm was in an obviously abnormal playing position (there's no valid reason for a defenders hand to be there while going up for a ball). The second one I didn't see clearly on the replay, but when a shot hits the upper arm while it's tucked against the body, handball calls aren't that common (because it's hard to move that part of the arm completely out of the way of the shot).

I rarely see a player going for a header with his arm down at his midsection, and from within 2 m he couldn't even react fast enough if he wanted to touch the ball.

Switzerland was the better team, but it's not that new that they have some lack of offense, especially without Frei.

[Tony Dellbird]

Off we go to the Portugal - Turkey thread then!

[RibbyBollywood]

This is the first game so there isn't a flow going yet,

But often in a game, if the ref blows a call, like the first and then, you have another incident, even if it isn't as clear, they will award the penalty, doncha think?

[Tony Dellbird]

I think the Ref was actually very good today, none of the penalty shouts were completely obvious.

[NGV]

I rarely see a player going for a header with his arm down at his midsection, and from within 2 m he couldn't even react fast enough if he wanted to touch the ball.

Usually you'd have your arms away from your body, but wouldn't have your hand up in the air like that. And it's not necessarily a question of reacting to the ball movement - if you adopt a position that's intended to create the possibility that the ball will hit your hand, a handball can be called even if you don't actually move your hand into the ball's final path.

I think it was probably a handball, but I wouldn't blame the ref too much - it was close, happened very fast, and was very hard to judge in real time.

[RibbyBollywood]

Oh, I thought the thread might be closed.

You know, they said on ESPN Classic, that the Czechs scored on their ONLY shot on goal. Amazing if that is so.

That shows you how much the Swiss were doing.

[Ed-D]

yeah the Swiss was robbed. At least one of the Ujfalusi's handballs should have been called a penalty. Maybe even both. Switzerland were clearly the better side on the day and deserved to come away with at least one point, if not all three. But hey, nobody ever said football (or life) is fair. The history of the sport is littered with examples of the better team losing. The best thing for Switzerland to do is shrug it off and focus on the next game, which has now become a must win for them.

[everythingfootball]

Switzerland looked really good and passed it around well.

[Tetsuo]

i think the fair result would have been a draw. but then again football isn't always fair. the swiss made a mistake and the czech speculated it.