02 Nov 2020 10:45:26
Ed001, what are your thoughts on the Salah pen decision?

Mine:

Did he fall down easily? Yes.
Was the defender stupid to make a challenge like that in the box? Yes.
Was it a penalty? Yes.
Have there been worse penalty decisions over the last 2 seasons? Yes.

Does/ did anybody get scrutinised as much as Salah does for it? No.

{Ed001's Note - pretty much saw it the same way. The other people to blame are the officials who will only give decisions if players go down.}

02 Nov 2020 11:15:38
Agree completely ed. There needs to be a shake up in those decisions. Salah gets kicked without going down in the box quite often.

In a slightly separate incident, what were your thoughts on the Kane penalty?

{Ed025's Note - i thought it was outside the box personally and very harsh on brighton, but im becoming more disillusioned with VAR on every passing day mate..

02 Nov 2020 11:29:09
I would be interested to hear if VAR is scrutinised this much in the other top leagues ed025. Or are their referee's handling these decisions much better?

I never hear noise from other European leagues about VAR, but there's a handful of controversial decision week in week out in the PL.

Or is this simply because I watch the PL and not the other leagues as much?

{Ed025's Note - they do seem to be better at it on the continent CM, they use the pitch side monitors more and all in all have better officials than us which helps mate..

02 Nov 2020 11:33:49
It does not matter how Salah fell - he was caught by the defender in the box so s penalty. If he stays on his feet he gets nothing.

Good dive though😂.

{Ed025's Note - i dont care whether its salah, richarlison, rodriguez, grealish or any other bugger KBL, its wrong mate..

02 Nov 2020 11:34:09
Ed025 - completely agree with you that VAR seems to be getting worse and worse. Every single game now seems to have two or three VAR talking points where the wrong decision is made. It really is getting to the point where I am starting to fall out of love with football a bit (compounded by the fact thatt there are no fans in the stadium)

I just don't understand how they get it so wrong. The Six Nations Rugby was on over the weekend and they just seem to manage and operate the whole video referee thing a whole lot better. Considering the amount of money that is in football compared to Rugby it really is inexcusable isn't it?

Red Sandman.

{Ed025's Note - our officials are just not good enough sandman and are using VAR as a crutch mate..

02 Nov 2020 11:34:21
U get touched in box u go down!
Just seen a ex pro say Salah diving is a insult to nobby stiles! WTF!

{Ed025's Note - its an insult to the game itself jay..

02 Nov 2020 12:55:25
I'm a bit bemused at what Carra said the other day no official in the premier league has gone with there original decision? and always gone with what VAR has said its odd smacks of them being scared or nervous for the fall out if they with there original judgement.

{Ed001's Note - that's not true, one stood by his own decision yesterday.}

02 Nov 2020 13:15:21
Is it the MLS where unless they can tell immediately if there's an offside using VAR then the attacker gets the benefit? None of this drawing lines and measuring armpit hair nonsense. Surely that is the best method? If you have to spend 10 mins trying to fathom if a shoulder is just past the line is the attacker getting that much of an advantage? Also is the technology capable of such precise measurements and angles? They just remind me of a kid with a new toy.

02 Nov 2020 14:11:54
It was a foul on Salah - he kicked Mo’s foot instead of the ball. It doesn't matter whether Salah dives, stands up, or starts breakdancing afterwards. It is still a foul (and a penalty) regardless.

02 Nov 2020 14:38:21
Come on, it was a touch but it was also a dive 😂👐.

02 Nov 2020 16:22:49
Salah was fouled, went down and got the call. Did he embelish? Yes but that is the only way you get the decision but we all know if he or Mane stay on their feet, they get nothing do those are the facts.

Now what gets my goat is the dishonest pundits who know all the above yet are being playing favourites on purpose on who they choose to slam. Harry Kane has been on a diving spree for three years now yet not a peep from them. Even yesterday, the guy fouls Lallana outside the box yet gets a pen? He and Son also blatantly dived with no contact at all yet again, not a peep from the geniuses called Shearer, Murphy and Cascarino? Grealish, Sterling etc but you know the deal.

All I ask is equal treatment here. If these same people were silent on the acts of the afore mentioned players then, they should remain silent when any of our boys going down easily after they have actually been kicked and fouled in the box. Fair is fair.

02 Nov 2020 13:13:22
Ed025 has it bang on, it needs taking out the game but until they either give pens for staying on your feet or book people for exaggeration the players will keep going down.

There was one instance yesterday, not in the box, but a united player flew at Tierney causing him to jump the challenge but the United player didn't get the ball. If Tierney didn't jump it, it would of been a foul but because he hurdles it play just carried on.

02 Nov 2020 13:19:47
I agree it's a disgrace, ed, no matter who's doing it for whatever team. But I think this once again stems from the officials being the incompetent buffoons they are. If they actually gave pens when players were fouled in the box then this wouldn't be as big a problem as it is now.

An example off the top of my head is Matt Jarvis from I think it must've been more than a few years ago. He was fouled in the box, but stayed on his feet. A lot of pundits and fans praised him after, but he never got anything for it during the game, despite the fact it was a clear pen. He said afterwards that he was now basically forced to consider going down next time something similar happened, or the officials just won't give a toss.

Obviously, it's still ultimately the players making the choice to go down 'too easily', but it really wouldn't be such a blight on the game if the refs knew what they were doing.

{Ed025's Note - i cant ague with that zpecialone, it comes down to the fact that refereeing standards are not what they should be mate, and this is what VAR should be for, clearing things up and if a player blatantly dives then he should be carded..

02 Nov 2020 18:09:31
Diving is a form of cheating but there are many forms of cheating that people seem happy to defend - for example tactical foul is always. “He’s taken a yellow for the team” - it’s cheating. Time wasting - cheating. Surrounding the referee when you aren’t happy with a decision - cheating. Standing over the ball so a quick free kick can’t be taken - cheating. I don’t get why people get so angry when people go down easily under a silly challenge, it’s no worse than any other cheating I. My eyes but gets far more scrutiny.

{Ed025's Note - yes they are all cheating and warrant cards champs, but diving is also deception which makes it worse mate imo..

02 Nov 2020 18:38:19
In addition to that zspecialone, people it seems, want to have it all their own way. They claim to want to stamp out diving from the game yet are neither advocating for the ideas you have put out or worse, not ready to address the issue in a wider scale.

The same people who slate Salah for going down too easily, are the very same people who keep their mouths shut when “other” players do it and in fact, praise them for being clever and how they conned the ref. How can we solve a prob with bad faith and dishonest actors injecting bias into the system?

Salah and Mand and many others stay in their feet when they are being whacked and man handled on the pitch and get nothing. When they go down, they slate them for play acting. Sorry, we cannot have it both ways. Either fix the prob overall or stop whining about it and keep it moving vid it seems no one is actually interested in fixing the issue. They are only interested in moaning and crying about it, IMO.

02 Nov 2020 19:43:59
Nice of Everton to keep top spot warm for us.

03 Nov 2020 03:09:40
I don't like it. But, diving is only wrong when there's no contact. It's now part of the politics, if you don't go down the ref won't give it (bit like my ex)

{Ed0666's Note - How dare you’re ex partner expect cunnilingus during copulation.