But then the 4th walked away while half the technical area was still squabbling with the players. and then we get our caution ….
Said Martinez's stock went way up this past week... by not refereeing. FIFA cannot be looking at Barton or Escobar right now and wanting to have them whistle two matches in Qatar. That's unfair to Barton and maybe he turns it around. But it's not unfair to Escobar.
You can still card for USB, and Escobar should have. But he finds every way to not give a card. It’s an art form.
I’m imagining the mental notes on the mass confrontation after full time. “Black puffy adidas jacket, black puffy adidas jacket, black puffy Nike jacket, goalkeeper.”
It’s Escobar. He was just standing there to make it look like he cared. How this joker is at the level he is defies belief.
Stats show 38 fouls awarded, and there must have been twice that number not called. So almost 1 foul per minute, and taking into consideration all of the other shithousery that went on, and the bizarre refereeing, was this really a soccer match, as we know it? CONCACAF is now really a disgrace to the sport. Who can possibly be happy with this nonsense? PH
There is a reason under UB called "lack of respect for the game" that I believe is mean to to be a catch-all bail out for the referee when he wants to give a caution for an action that doesn't necessarily fit under reckless or SPA (especially if advantage is given) but is one of those "cynical has no place in soccer" actions. I remember having to explain that to a coach earlier this year when his defender was nearly pulling an attacker's jersey off as he ran towards the PA but attacker fought through it and got a shot on frame and I still gave him a caution. Tried to tell me a jersey pull isn't reckless and wasn't SPA since I gave advantage. Dropped that nugget on him.
On another thread, there are some comments that Panama should have had a man sent off in the 1st half against El Salvador as well as that on their winning goal two players (including the scorer were offside). Did anybody see this?
Barton had a bad game. Escobar is a bad referee (at least at this level). I get that Hall loves him some Escobar. It's weirdly reminiscent of Berhalter hanging on to Lletget. But Berhalter finally realized Lletget wasn't going to be the answer and has moved on. I don't see why Hall doesn't do the same. Or, why someone at FIFA won't call Hall up and ask exactly why Hall keeps trotting Escobar out there.
Goal scorer was pretty clearly off from what I see. He was the only one. I assume the other player in question would have been the one on the far side who got the assist. He's clearly onside. The PA line makes it pretty obvious.
If the claim for red is the accidental elbow, it was cautioned and could probably be called either way given the current state of those types of calls. As to the goal, the first player was clearly on. The goal scorer was close. He was probably slightly ahead of the ball. Without VAR and with an AR who got caught ball watching and left horribly out of position, what can you do. No way the CR could tell. Goal at 1:23
Yeah he's ahead of the ball. Yes the AR is sprinting to get there after making a very correct flash lag decision just before this. Certainly not a scandalous offside call as it was described in a few places and one that we see every week in VAR leagues with the top ARs in the world.
This is how obvious that horse collar play was for misconduct. I'm watching the game with my wife and son. Admittedly, we are all rooting for Canada (I know a draw would have been better for the US, but I just can't bring myself to ever root for Mexico in a game. ). As soon as that happens, here is the sequence of comments. Me: "Advantage, but come back and caution." Son: "Come on! That's a caution!" Wife: "That's awful. What a dirty play! How can the referee miss that?!" Me: (Explains advantage, but also says that the referee should have cautioned.) Wife: "I don't care! That's still dirty! He has to be cautioned!" Moral of the story - When my wife is screaming at the television to give a caution, it's probably the right call to give a caution.
All true. But if VAR does get introduced for the final six matches... is this the only consequential incident from the first eight matches that we are sure would have been overturned? If we stipulate that all of the penalty and red card decisions are a lottery (because I think they are), we are left with this because I can't remember another offside goal being given. There was a long way to go in this match, but it's worth keeping in mind that this might have gifted Panama 2 points that they possibly wouldnt get if this play occurred going forward.
I didn't say this last night because, well, it's CONCACAF and it was never going to happen. But if that play didn't have advantage applied and the Canadian attacker was dragged to ground via that hold... I've got a VC red card. A horse collar grab of the shirt there is essentially like grabbing someone by the neck while they are at full speed. That's... violent, not unsporting. There was an argument made here for a red on a play like this at EURO (semifinal?) to which I said yellow because of both expectations and lack of speed/force. But this? This was gratuitous and the result could have been pretty horrendous if the Canadian wasn't able to play through it.
I 100% agree with you on the VC had he gone to ground. I played football in high school, and that kind of play is incredibly dangerous when you're on the receiving end of it. That's why even though there was an advantage, I still would have gone with a caution in my games for that kind of play.
But it is strange. He made a very good non-call on the first possible offside. If you watch the video, he stays motionless for nearly the entire flight of the ball. He had to know he would be having another call to make. We're only human. I get it. But the ball watching was obvious.
Yes! I've got yellow there, for all the reasons I said then and above. But if Saka was in full sprint and away from Chiellini? Yeah, that action rises to VC because the speed automatically increases the force. Also because it's gratuitous. You could just hold the shirt like a normal, unsporting action.
I think the difference between a yellow/red can also be the difference between a grab/pull. If you grab the collar, I'm likely to give yellow. If there is a pull in addition to the grab, I'm more likely to go red.