My only criticism of the ref last night was that he played the advantage sometimes when there was none. We had a freekick outside the box that he was about to give but allowed play to carry on although the ball was nearly back at halfway and no advantage was accrued. Oh and I don't know where he got 4 minutes added time from in the first half.
It was cynical in the extreme and if I remember correctly a few years ago that would have been a red for a professional foul.The Chiellini shirt pull was the one that annoyed me. Yes it was on halfway near the touchline but he made a mistake and Saka was free, noone was going to catch him.
Should have been treated as the last man.
My wife watched the game with me last night. She had no interest in football. After the pullback she said to me "surely that can't be allowed?" I said no he will get a yellow card. My wife said "yeah but why is he still allowed to play?" I said because that's the rules. She said "stupid rules!"I think Jorginho's was 100% a red and if it wasn't in the final, it would have been given. I can't believe it didn't get a VAR check.
Chiellini's looked horrible but how do you measure the force of pulling someone's shirt when it comes to a sending off, tough one.
I am sure its a reason some folks become disenfranchised with the game and drift away due to the lack of spirit and integrity of all concerned.
I thought the first one was a penalty and a proper VAR review would have seen Bonucci's knee clatter the back of Sterling's knee, causing his leg to collapse. Whether accidental or intentional, it was significant contact that could easily have been given. I suspect the furore over the penalty v the Danes has influenced the referee on that one, but surprised VAR didn't give it serious consideration. We didn't do enough to win it anyway and sitting back and defending for 85 minutes v the Italians was a poor tactical decision.I thought the tackle on Grealish was studs up and could have been a red. The stamp on the knee was accidental as his foot rolled off the ball. If he hasn't been studs up though it wouldn't have happened.
I don't think a red would have surprised anyone.
I thought sterling looked for a penalty a couple of times.
I thought the ref was poor. three times in the first half he told the italians no free kick after a dive roll around, but he didn't book them for simulation, so they kept on throwing themselves. He gave really odd decisions on free kicks, and non-free kicks no consistency in his decision making at all. big pull or push no free kick, tiny pull or push free kick?!I don't know why the one on Grealish wasn't reviewed by VAR? Other challenges in the tournament have been it was certainly worse than the one that got the Welsh lad sent off.
My only criticism of the ref last night was that he played the advantage sometimes when there was none. We had a freekick outside the box that he was about to give but allowed play to carry on although the ball was nearly back at halfway and no advantage was accrued. Oh and I don't know where he got 4 minutes added time from in the first half.
The first one I am thinking about was early on and I think it was outside the box. There was one you describe that I have seen given but also seen them waved away. The ref was too lenient generally I thought.I thought the first one was a penalty and a proper VAR review would have seen Bonucci's knee clatter the back of Sterling's knee, causing his leg to collapse. Whether accidental or intentional, it was significant contact that could easily have been given. I suspect the furore over the penalty v the Danes has influenced the referee on that one, but surprised VAR didn't give it serious consideration. We didn't do enough to win it anyway and sitting back and defending for 85 minutes v the Italians was a poor tactical decision.
I don’t think he was too lenient to be fair. One of the main reasons I have stopped watching the game is the play acting and diving. With a ref less inclined to give free kicks hopefully it’ll lessen the impact of the divingThe first one I am thinking about was early on and I think it was outside the box. There was one you describe that I have seen given but also seen them waved away. The ref was too lenient generally I thought.