Seriously, twice in two games. I don't hold it against the ref for either occasion but I feel like we deserve an apology, or at least a Hallmark card from the referees. Szczesny did an amazing job going in without fouling and still gets penalized - he's the one being cheated.
I don't think the ref was 100% sure, if it was a dive or not, so he awarded the penalty but decided not to card WS13 because suarez is known for being a twat. In the end justice was done. What a boss.
thing is, i agree with the announcers who did our game (i think it was the game immediately before spurs) where (i felt) that robin was tripped in the box but a penalty was not given. he said that, because the referee was behind and was unsure that it was a penalty, he elected to take the safe choice and not award us the penalty. i think that is more appropriate than the two "uh, i can't tell . . . so, yeah, go for it" penalties in the spurs game and this one.
and, i think, this is where the referees (and, equally, the organization(s) they represent) are to be blamed. i've seen multiple times where players fought to stay on their feet failed and, basically, the referee ignored it even though it was a foul in the box and should have been a penalty where, instead, if a player flop (even better if they act like their vagina was fractured on the play), they reward them with the penalty and, even when they recognized/acknowledged that it was a dive, rarely do they ever offer the appropriate punishment (eg, card). yeah, i know the players fake and do all this bullshit but they are, basically, saying, "cheat or you'll be screwed".
If you have to replay it to figure out what you think, I don't care. The ref had his view blocked, and it was a convincing dive. A pure dive though. I don't blame the ref.
That looks far more sinister than the angle they showed on the broadcast. I was originally marking it up to accidental contact.
Outstanding stat. I would be very curious, how many PK Manchester United gets @ OT vs away matches? cheers.
As I said above, but it's still a dive. He's leaping into the air before any contact is made, and what contact is minimal.
suarez dived because he diddn't want to make contact with a pasty skinned european not part of the uraguayan master race
Yes, it all ended up the way it should have, but it'd be nice if we didn't need a ridiculous double save to prevent an injustice. BTW, Szczesny escapes further punishment because he doesn't deny a shooting opportunity. The ball was going out of play. (This is also the reason why Gibbs and/or Szczesny weren't sent off versus Sp*rs.) Had the foul(s) been legitimate, the correct call would have been the one(s) made: penalty, but no sending off.