*Official* English Football Season 2012-13

[Scaly piscine]

Rio turning like an oil tanker there.

 

[Neil Pickup]

I'm intrigued as to why it was an outrageously wrong decision not to send off de Jong in the WC final for karate kicking someone, but it's now an outrageously wrong decision to send off Nani for karate kicking someone.

 

[The Sean]

This is going to be a painful half hour.

 

[cpr]

Riding our luck since the ludicrous red.

Rooney time IMO.

 

[cpr]

I'm intrigued as to why it was an outrageously wrong decision not to send off de Jong in the WC final for karate kicking someone, but it's now an outrageously wrong decision to send off Nani for karate kicking someone.

Can't really remember the WC final one, but Nani was all eyes on ball. Ball was nigh on his toes and was trying to bring it down when Arbeloa came in. No malice in it

 

[cpr]

****

Awesome strike though

 

[The Sean]

Yeah, that's a wonderful goal.

 

[wpdavid]

It was a good strike, but the extra man has made all the difference in terms of how much space he had. The ref was pleased to see it go in, you'd think.

 

[Scaly piscine]

I'm intrigued as to why it was an outrageously wrong decision not to send off de Jong in the WC final for karate kicking someone, but it's now an outrageously wrong decision to send off Nani for karate kicking someone.

I was never convinced de Jong was a definite red. It's whether you think there's intent or not, which is hard to be reasonably confident. He didn't have a big kick, he just braced his leg with studs up against an opponent running onto him.

Nani just lifted his leg up, the sort of thing that happens regularly, even in other countries with a high leg phobia. No intent and no violent action.

 

[Cabinet96]

Jeez, I left at 1-0 to see the toss in the cricket match, and come back to 1-2.

 

[wpdavid]

And all over now barring something beyond extraordinary. Credit to Ronaldo for barely celebrating. But Utd have been well and truly shafted tonight. I'm trying to work out whether it's kinder to assume gross incompetence or something worse on the part of the ref. To get that big a decision so very wrong is beyond me. It wasn't like he didn't have time to think about it, either.

 

[Neil Pickup]

I was never convinced de Jong was a definite red. It's whether you think there's intent or not, which is hard to be reasonably confident. He didn't have a big kick, he just braced his leg with studs up against an opponent running onto him.

Nani just lifted his leg up, the sort of thing that happens regularly, even in other countries with a high leg phobia. No intent and no violent action.

For the record, I don't think either were reds as neither looked to have the "excessive force" necessary to merit serious foul play and deserve a red card, but am rather amused/perplexed by the disparity in reactions between the two offences.

 

[The Sean]

Van Persie doesn't look up for this at all - he needs desperately to step up.

 

[The Sean]

One of those had to go in.

 

[The Sean]

How the **** is that not a penalty??

 

[Scaly piscine]

And that was a penalty.

 

[The Sean]

Difficult not to feel bitter about that. Even Jose looked embarrassed.

 

[Burgey]

We always get a bad deal from referees.

 

[Pothas]

In the the important game Brentford go and **** it up in typical style. League one is getting stupid now.

 

[Uppercut]

For the record, I don't think either were reds as neither looked to have the "excessive force" necessary to merit serious foul play and deserve a red card, but am rather amused/perplexed by the disparity in reactions between the two offences.

TBH I think de Jong's gained notoriety in retrospect because it spawned a still photo that made it look far worse than it was. But at least it was an actual challenge, Nani was just trying to bring the ball down over his shoulder and collided with Arbeloa coming the other way.

****ing gutting. I didn't think we were better than Madrid going in but I do now. And we're out anyway.