So Dunn's "dive" was the sportsmanship equivalent of the thing she was complaining about? I like Crystal, I think she's great, but that kind of stuff diminishes a player's rep, to me. On the other hand, I'll give her a pass due to the heat of the moment.
One thing that a lot of people that do not play or that have not played recently often forget is that in the heat of the moment contact that can knock a player out of stride and even cause a player to fall is not felt by the players at all. I remember being tripped and having no idea what actually happened. It does not take a lot of contact to disrupt a run. It is possible, given the light contact, that Dunn did not feel any contact and that she really thought that the fall was a dive. I am willing to give her the benefit of the doubt mainly because she has no history of bad behavior to speak of. As an aside: the only way that diving and excessive fouling will ever be controlled is if the referees actually start calling every foul and carding every suspected dive. If a player hold in the box no matter how lightly they should call it and if a player falls down and there was no contact then card it. Players will adjust and stop the behavior and if the don't then they will get red cards and coaches will stop playing the divers to avoid playing short. I dislike the cowardly refs that use the excuse that a foul was not bad enough so they allow it. To me a foul is a foul and should be called if it in any way adversely impacts the play of any player. It is possible to play soccer a very high level without fouling or diving. Sir Stanley Mathews never received a red card in his illustrious career and he is also quoted in saying that he played for 33 years and never received a yellow card and that he was very proud of that. I do not know if he was ever yellow carded but I have verified that he never received a red, If it was possible for a player during a MUCH more physical era of soccer to play at that kind of level without the kind of misbehavior we see today then it should be possible for players today to at least avoid the diving and other bad behaviors we see today. I would really like to see every foul in the box called and every dive to be carded. Just a short while of that and the horrible behavior we see from many players would stop.
I agree that Dunn probably did not feel the contact when she fouled the Portland's player. She indeed did commit the foul and her diving surely deserved the yellow. I think the referees in the NWSL let too many fouls go uncalled. I think it hurts the players physically and hurts the game in that it's hard for the attacking players to do their things.
It's not just the fouls. There seems to be a general unwillingness at the college and pro level of the women's game to show cards. Especially second yellows and reds. There's a reticence in general with regards to reds at all levels of both genders, but I've always thought the women's game would be better off if the refs called the women's game the same as they call the men's. I also think the NWSL has to look at putting VAR in place for the three playoff games each year.
I think that has less to do with they way Menges plays the game than it does with the way the referees call the game.
They do call the games the same. If anything the men's game is more ruined by the cowardly refs failing to enforce the laws of the game. Of course what you hear is "the ref is letting them play" when what is really meant is "the ref is rewarding bad play and thuggery" and that is worsening the game. The refs need to call the game correctly by the laws and if that means more yellows and reds the so be it. Maybe that will get the thugs and the divers out of the game or, better, get them to clean up their act. As far as VAR goes: If the playoffs are played where the hardware is already in place to allow VAR for all three playoff games then I agree it should be used but if the hardware (including the extra communication equipment required) is not in place for all three then it should not be used at all. There is also the cost of personnel for VAR. It is not just the extra refs it is the extra people require to run the var equipment. VAR is not cheap to run in a match and I wonder if the NWSL can afford the extra expense.
Perhaps a nitpick, but a yellow to Dunn would be for dissent, not simulation, i.e. diving. According to the LOTG. Referees have to be trained to use VAR, unless you're bringing over MLS referees who already use it. Personally I don't see that happening. I also don't want VAR put into place when the referees don't have prior training and experience. The lack of experience is also why I doubt the WWC will have VAR, again unless they plan on bringing over the VAR crew from the MWC. Again, that seems unlikely.
Yes, despite my previous post, I had actually thought the same, because doing her show while being aware of having committed an actual foul looked too much egregious to me for her. By the way, it was my personal opinion that the foul actually happened, but I guess everyone who will rewatch that moment could agree with me.
I may not be remembering correctly but after Dunn's dive, the ref gave her the card and in his "talk" to her it looked like he motioned that he would make the calls and did not want player assistance. So, I think the card was for dissent.
I think Dunn belly flopped because she thought the opponent went down way too easily given the contact that happened - - I would use the word embellishment, rather than dive. Re: Yellow card; the box score only listed the yellows to O'Sullivan and McDonald.
don't think she got a card. i was specifically looking for that, because i remembered moros getting one for hers. waited for the yellow, but it never came.