Football

[Loppylugs]

The National League play off final is to be played at Bristol City's Ashton Gate. I wonder if those running the National League will ever make a good decision about anything.

Did worse to my lot (AFC Wimbledon) when we played Luton in the play-off final in 2011 and sent us to the Etihad in Manchester !

 

[Drogba11CFC]

Whoever was on VAR duty should be on their way to prison.

 

[fishquinn]

Whoever was on VAR duty should be on their way to prison.

Leicester deserved that win and if it means VAR calling it offside then so be it

 

[roversfan2001]

I despise VAR but I’m not particularly fond of Chelsea (and have a soft spot for Leicester after their PL win) so I suppose I’ll let it off this time...

 

[Darandio]

Whoever was on VAR duty should be on their way to prison.

The magic of the cup.

 

[scotrail158713]

Whoever was on VAR duty should be on their way to prison.

Why? Offside was the right decision. Why should VAR be introduced, and then it is only selectively used?

Must. Not. Have. VAR. Rant.

On a side note, what a difference fans being in attendance made. It was so much better having an actual atmosphere there, and you could see what it meant to all associated with Leicester.

 

[Drogba11CFC]

Well, it certainly turned my trip to Scotland away from the Midland Main Line. Euston to Carlisle and Glasgow to Kings Cross via Dumfries and Leeds.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Whoever was on VAR duty should be on their way to prison.

Clearly offside. By a hair's breadth!

VAR-dy the winner for Leicester?

 

[Bald Rick]

Much as I object to some of the inconsistency with VAR, that was offside.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

To be fair, there was also a rather 'crisply' taken goal scored by the Leicester outfit.

 

[SteveM70]

Whoever was on VAR duty should be on their way to prison.

If it’s the offside you’re moaning about, there’s no doubt the VAR got it right. If it’s the ball hitting Perez’s hand in the build up to Leicester’s goal, read the laws.

Better team won

 

[Bald Rick]

I wonder if there were any Leicester fans at Wembley today also booked on the last HST out of St Pancras. Quite a decision to make - see your team lift the cup or travel on the last ever HST....

 

[sharpley]

Whoever was on VAR duty should be on their way to prison.

It was offside, admittedly it was close but it was off and VAR came to the correct decision.

Anyway, as a lifelong Leicester fan... YESSSS. A fine fine goal and some world-class saves from Kasper. Finally won the bloody thing at the 5th time of being in the final. Hopefully repeat the same job next Tuesday to cement out place in the top 4.

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

Whoever was on VAR duty should be on their way to prison.

As a fellow Chelsea fan I must respectfully disagree. Yes it was gut-wrenching to have the goal ruled out but VAR was applied in the same way it has been all season and as such Chilwell was offside. I am close to Lineker's age and the first final I remember was 1970 when Chelsea won for the first time. Note that was just a year after Lineker's much publicised unhappy experience. Hard as it was to watch the scenes after the match if Leicester had beaten anyone else today I'm sure I would have been very happy for them.

Going forward there surely does need to be a discussion about the true intent of the offside rule now that VAR is able to apply such forensic analysis to situations. My own preference would be to judge players' positions solely on the position of their feet and not their armpits, chest hairs, etc. It would be interesting to know how many recent decisions would be different with such an interpretation and whether fans would be any happier with it.

 

[Bald Rick]

Going forward there surely does need to be a discussion about the true intent of the offside rule now that VAR is able to apply such forensic analysis to situations. My own preference would be to judge players' positions solely on the position of their feet and not their armpits, chest hairs, etc. It would be interesting to know how many recent decisions would be different with such an interpretation and whether fans would be any happier with it.

I agree. My team had a goal ruled out by VAR because our attacking player had a hand offside (which he can’t score with), because it was ahead of the defenders foot. However the defender’s hand was ahead of our players hand. That can’t be right.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

My team had a goal ruled out by VAR because our attacking player had a hand offside (which he can’t score with), because it was ahead of the defenders foot. However the defender’s hand was ahead of our players hand. That can’t be right.

It shouldn't have been.

(Potentially) a player is in an offside position if:

• any part of the head, body or feet is in the opponents’ half (excluding the halfway line) and
• any part of the head, body or feet is nearer to the opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent
• The hands and arms of all players, including the goalkeepers, are not considered.

(Extract from IFAB Law 11 - 'Offside' - Season 2020-21).

 

[SteveM70]

Going forward there surely does need to be a discussion about the true intent of the offside rule now that VAR is able to apply such forensic analysis to situations. My own preference would be to judge players' positions solely on the position of their feet and not their armpits, chest hairs, etc. It would be interesting to know how many recent decisions would be different with such an interpretation and whether fans would be any happier with it.

Offside is a line decision. Black and white. You’re on or off. It doesn’t matter which bit of the body they use (and the current definition is pretty logical as it’s limited to the bits of the body you can legitimately score with), sooner or later a decision will come down to a few millimetres. Same as the people calling for wider lines on the graphics or for there to be daylight between the lines - eventually someone is going to be just on or offside whatever the measure. I really don’t have a problem with that.

Where I do have a problem is with linesmen being instructed not to flag if they think it’s offside, just in case they’re wrong. Sooner or later someone’s going to end up with a totally unnecessary broken leg.

 

[Cowley]

As a fellow Chelsea fan I must respectfully disagree. Yes it was gut-wrenching to have the goal ruled out but VAR was applied in the same way it has been all season and as such Chilwell was offside. I am close to Lineker's age and the first final I remember was 1970 when Chelsea won for the first time. Note that was just a year after Lineker's much publicised unhappy experience. Hard as it was to watch the scenes after the match if Leicester had beaten anyone else today I'm sure I would have been very happy for them.

Going forward there surely does need to be a discussion about the true intent of the offside rule now that VAR is able to apply such forensic analysis to situations. My own preference would be to judge players' positions solely on the position of their feet and not their armpits, chest hairs, etc. It would be interesting to know how many recent decisions would be different with such an interpretation and whether fans would be any happier with it.

I salute you for your measured response sir.

 

[AlterEgo]

Offside is a line decision. Black and white. You’re on or off. It doesn’t matter which bit of the body they use (and the current definition is pretty logical as it’s limited to the bits of the body you can legitimately score with), sooner or later a decision will come down to a few millimetres. Same as the people calling for wider lines on the graphics or for there to be daylight between the lines - eventually someone is going to be just on or offside whatever the measure. I really don’t have a problem with that.

Where I do have a problem is with linesmen being instructed not to flag if they think it’s offside, just in case they’re wrong. Sooner or later someone’s going to end up with a totally unnecessary broken leg.

Offside is binary yes, but the people who wrote the law only intended for the law to create a passing midfield game instead of two crowds of goalhanging players in each other’s box all the time.

It was intended to create art and beauty and VAR destroys all that is aesthetically wonderful with the game.

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

I think VAR would be far better if they adopted the approach used in cricket, which (if I understand it correctly) only overrules the umpire’s call if the error is obvious. Therefore marginally incorrect decisions are allowed to stand.

That being said, Leicester deserved that win based on their second half performance which was magnificent. Chelsea wasted the chances they made, apart from the fabulous save from Schmeichel which deserved the trophy on its own.

 

[SteveM70]

think VAR would be far better if they adopted the approach used in cricket, which (if I understand it correctly) only overrules the umpire’s call if the error is obvious. Therefore marginally incorrect decisions are allowed to stand.

Thats exactly how var is used for subjective non-line decisions - it only gets involved if the var feels there’s a clear and obvious error. How would that work for offside? Only if a player is more than 5cm offside? Soon enough someone will be 5.001cm offside and the argument blows up again.

 

[HST274]

At least you could clearly see him 'leaning' over the line. It wasn't like his armpit like we have seen in some other decisions.

 

[Jamesrob637]

I wonder if there were any Leicester fans at Wembley today also booked on the last HST out of St Pancras. Quite a decision to make - see your team lift the cup or travel on the last ever HST....

I was on said train but Wakefield to Leeds. Apparently some had been on even if it meant missing all or part of the match on TV. Radios and phones aplenty kept people abreast of the score. Imagine that when they were first introduced!

I was just past Junction 23 on the M62 heading to Leeds, listening to the World Service, when the final whistle blew!

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

The feeling that some supporters seem to have have that football, especially of the clubs they support (more so with clubs of large following who have a long history), entitles them to ignore advice from their own clubs, their manager, their team players, the constabulary et al, not to "group celebrate" certain occasions at the time of the current pandemic. What happened in recent hours with Rangers fans seems to be comparable to what happened to Liverpool fans on the occasion of winning a major football scenario.

 

[roversfan2001]

Rangers have won their first ever title so it’s hardly a surprise that their fans have been out celebrating. Fans of clubs up and down the country have celebrated promotions or titles etc. these past few weeks, it’s been good to see a small piece of normality.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Rangers have won their first ever title so it’s hardly a surprise that their fans have been out celebrating. Fans of clubs up and down the country have celebrated promotions or titles etc. these past few weeks, it’s been good to see a small piece of normality.

Normality when adherence to pandemic advice still is in operation is outside the meaning inferred by "normality".

 

[Darandio]

The feeling that some supporters seem to have have that football, especially of the clubs they support (more so with clubs of large following who have a long history), entitles them to ignore advice from their own clubs, their manager, their team players, the constabulary et al, not to "group celebrate" certain occasions at the time of the current pandemic. What happened in recent hours with Rangers fans seems to be comparable to what happened to Liverpool fans on the occasion of winning a major football scenario.

There have been dozens of protests over the past year. Funerals with more people than allowed. Illegal raves. The list goes on.

Yet you go on the attack against football fans every time. Give it a rest.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

There have been dozens of protests over the past year. Funerals with more people than allowed. Illegal raves. The list goes on.

Yet you go on the attack against football fans every time. Give it a rest.

Truth hurts, doesn't it.... ......This is the Football thread, not the "Raves" thread or the "Funerals" thread. Just keeping "on topic"

You mention illegal raves. Those attending them are the type who know full well in this pandemic that there was a chance of returning home possibly having caught the virus infection that they could spread to the members of their family, but put their own selfish need for enjoyment above everying else.

Funerals with more people than allowed have seen large fines imposed on funeral directors.

 

[roversfan2001]

You mention illegal raves. Those attending them are the type who know full well in this pandemic that there was a chance of returning home possibly having caught the virus infection that they could spread to the members of their family

The same applies to anyone who’s ever left the house ever. There’s always risk attached to everything.

 

[Drogba11CFC]

The same applies to anyone who’s ever left the house ever. There’s always risk attached to everything.

Better not leave the house, you might get hit by a meteor.