01 Mar 2026 15:54:21
Another soft decision in the prem in the United game today. Cunha is barely touched, throws himself to the ground and gets a pen + a red card against Palace.
Worst thing is the commentary said it was a foul. If we keep glorifying and accepting a soft touch being a foul it will only get worse and nothing will fix it.
We have to call out the theatrics, both for and against otherwise football will be a non contact sport. And it will ruin the sport.
Yes these decisions may even out, it the fact that 3 refs have looked at that and not seen it as soft that is particularly troubling.
VAR gets battered regularly, quite rightly at times, but those involved around the game need to support removing these soft fouls. And not jump on refs if they decide contact isn't enough. We have yesterday where they micro analyse a handball for Burnley, yet today look at that and deem it acceptable.
If one person had seen it like pre var, you could see why he gave it and say Cunha bought it. But the fact we have video analysis in game, that should never be given. Although they will no doubt fall behind the 'clear and obvious' line which they abide to when it suits!
01 Mar 2026 16:01:59
Salah would never ever get that.
01 Mar 2026 16:12:07
I was just about to post about the Cunha penalty! Don't matter now, WYred nailed it. ?
01 Mar 2026 16:21:45
WYRed, Martin Tyler called it a foul and suggested last man well before VAR got involved. Disgraceful, not being able to hide his clear bias.
The refs do this to themselves. One week, a hand on the shoulder is ok, and the next it's enough to change the outcome of a game. The level of inconsistencies shows that there is no clear directive from above, and they referee games on an "ad lib" basis.
They've invited so much grey area into what should be black and white decisions, and the players, like Cunha, take advantage.
Have to feel for the Palace lad; not a pen and never a red card.
01 Mar 2026 16:36:51
Football is becoming a tougher and tougher watch. Be it down to the style of play or officials killing the sport we all love.
With the ever increasing prices, it's only a matter of time before fans start seeing the biggest entertainment business in the world is no longer giving value for money.
01 Mar 2026 16:59:28
Who would pay to watch football at the moment? Sky subscription binned. Don't have the spare time to commit to match days any more, and the cost is extortionate.
Never thought I would say this, but I have watched so little football this season. I have probably watched less than 20 of our matches in total, including CL and cups.
01 Mar 2026 17:11:24
Pundits will never dispute a decision.
They're just as bad as the officials.
01 Mar 2026 17:20:36
Problem is, flyer: it is a red by the rules once they give the foul. I'd argue it'd be nice if a bit of common sense could be applied to situations like this. It was a debatable DOGSO (stupid acronym!), so a yellow and a pen would seem fair. However, he made no attempt at the ball, and that, paired with them giving it, gave them little movement. It should never have been given as a foul, I think we all agree on that.
I'd argue this is a mix of refs and media pressure.
They are petrified of getting it wrong, so spend an age sticking it under the magnifying glass. Although today still got it wrong! Either remove VAR entirely, keep it for offsides only, which is black and white, or stick a timer on it. I also had the idea of a review system similar to Cricket, as anything is better than what we have.
VAR was meant to support the ref, and the fans get a fairer sport. Right now it's just ruining it, which is sad to see for the biggest sport in the world.
01 Mar 2026 17:25:33
Spot on, WY and JK.
01 Mar 2026 17:31:05
How can a minimal touch be a peno like that one, but then every corner is WWF wrestling, and absolutely nothing is given? Players even have their backs to the corner, and have no idea whatsoever where the flight of the ball is. How can this be right? The game is gone.
01 Mar 2026 17:34:23
Absolute joke. A clear dive because he knew he wasn't getting to the ball. There was contact, but it was nothing. Then to give a red card is unbelievable.
Then conversely, you have Declan Rice bear-hugging a Chelsea player and deliberately knocking the ball away with his arm, and it's play on.
If decisions were consistent, people wouldn't mind so much, but the inconsistency and standard of reffing in this country is embarrassing.
01 Mar 2026 18:13:45
Seems daft to give a penalty for that. There's not a chance that's enough contact to either drag him back at all, and especially bring him down.
01 Mar 2026 18:20:01
The problem is that it's a double punishment, surely? If it's outside the box it's a red card n free kick, but in the box it's a foul n pen with a yellow card? Or is my understanding wrong?
01 Mar 2026 18:39:31
Jim Jim, it's because a genuine attempt wasn't made at the ball. If he clattered him, he'd likely have got a yellow. The wonderful nature of football laws.
It'd be great if sometimes we could apply common sense, but, then again, could we trust them with that?
01 Mar 2026 18:41:56
That was what I thought, Jimjim. If a pen is given, it's not a red card. If it's outside the box and deemed last man, it is a red. ?
01 Mar 2026 19:11:28
Surely if it's a serious foul in the box, it's red and a peno, but the denial of a goal-scoring opportunity relates to outside of the box, or is every foul in the box a red and peno.
01 Mar 2026 20:20:45
Say he slide tackled him from the side, and went for the ball, but missed and took him out. I'm 99% sure that'd be a yellow under double jeopardy. But because he pulled back with no intention of making a tackle (I use that term lightly, just as per the rules), it can be a red and a pen.
01 Mar 2026 21:11:37
JK, I feel the same about watching football now. I find myself looking forward to a game, but pretty quickly the "rubbish" housery starts, and it's just a massive turn off.
I'm usually doing other things, ie lurking on here, lol, at the same time.
Sad, but the sport is making money hand over fist, increasingly so every year, but the product for me is declining at a good clip.
01 Mar 2026 21:19:22
Referees don't understand the game. Cunha clearly threw himself to the floor because he wasn't getting to the ball. If you know the game, it was obvious.
Yet, as others have said, Declan Rice was marking the front man at every corner and didn't even look at the ball once. He grabbed him, and, at one point, was pushing him off the pitch with both hands, and that's deemed ok.
Every time an Arsenal player is touched, they go down and get a free kick.
They just wait for contact and go over. It's blatantly obvious, yet referees fall for it every time.
It makes football so hard to watch. The game today was supposed to be one of the biggest games of the season, but you spend the whole game incredulous at the cheating and the refs' inability to police it. In fact, the refs are implicit in allowing it to happen, and encourage cheating by rewarding it.
It really is killing the game.
01 Mar 2026 22:04:54
What I can't get my head around is why is it that the last man gives away a pen and gets a red card why is he punished twice it is totally unfair but if a player dives in the penalty area they only gets a yellow card he is cheating but gets punished once. YNWA
01 Mar 2026 23:32:05
What happened to the rule where the foul is given at the spot where the contact/foul started? Is that no longer the case?
Like, I thought it was a foul in the replay, a soft one at that, but to me it looked like a foul (under current rules, that is) because of the contact with no intention for the ball, and also the goal-denying opportunity.
But, in my eyes, that's never ever a penalty. It's a freekick, since the contact starts way outside the box, even if Cunha waited till he was inside the box to go to ground.
Anyway, I thought the foul would always go back to where the contact started, no?
01 Mar 2026 23:43:12
VB, I agree, but we all keep watching.
So much "man" handling going on during set pieces, etc., but blow on someone during play, and it's a foul, or not, as the case and ref may be. Becoming a crapshoot as to what decision will be made.
02 Mar 2026 08:31:07
Salah had a similar challenge on him the other week, when VAR said the challenge started outside the box and it wasn't obvious he was denied a goal-scoring opportunity. It's the consistency that is wrong, lads.
02 Mar 2026 16:51:02
That's true, Itstrue. The consistency is appalling. Salah has been played so physically for years, probably more than any other player in the league over that time. The amount of times he's been "fouled" and been given a free kick is farcical. If he goes down, it's usually "play on."