Most of the fouls were unnecessary hard or simply unnecessary. They guys on the pitch lost their nerves and the referee didn't have many other options than booking them.
It was a great game to watch. The England-Ecuador game was terrible.

I don't think it's fair to blame the referee for what was an ill-tempered match.

Costinha deserved to be sent off, the stupidity was all his not the referee's.

Khalid Boulahrouz injured Cristiano Ronaldo and should have been sent off for that foul - his elbow on Figo (who was himself lucky to be still on the pitch at that time) looked deliberate.

Deco was also foolish and the referee was justified in sending him off.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst's dismissal was the most understandable on the player's part, sheer frustration, two bookings, red card.

If you think this match descended into chaos, blame the players, not the referee.

Portugal deserved to win, the Netherlands were poor, Kuyt never looked like scoring and Van Basten's refusal to bring on van Nistelrooij when the Dutch needed a goal was irresponsibly stubborn.

johnnyshape wrote:

instant_zen wrote:... kicked the ball out of bounds

okay okay, so there must be something wrong with my yank-speak. kindly explain. thanks.

HOUSTON_M wrote:I don't think it's fair to blame the referee for what was an ill-tempered match.

Costinha deserved to be sent off, the stupidity was all his not the referee's.

Khalid Boulahrouz injured Cristiano Ronaldo and should have been sent off for that foul - his elbow on Figo (who was himself lucky to be still on the pitch at that time) looked deliberate.

Deco was also foolish and the referee was justified in sending him off.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst's dismissal was the most understandable on the player's part, sheer frustration, two bookings, red card.

If you think this match descended into chaos, blame the players, not the referee.

Portugal deserved to win, the Netherlands were poor, Kuyt never looked like scoring and Van Basten's refusal to bring on van Nistelrooij when the Dutch needed a goal was irresponsibly stubborn.

It's not so much the specific red cards, as the number of yellow cards given out for practically nothing. It's a contact sport, no? If that game had been played in an English league, you would never have seen that number of bookings. You also wouldn't have seen that level of cheating, and I'm looking at Luis Figo here. There's no way the arm on him was deliberate - whereas his headbutt certainly was. Fuck you, Figo. We've been here before.

The point is not in terms of whether the referee should have given cards for specific incidents. The point is that he allowed the game to get to the stage it did, where the players realised the main advantage would come in conning the referee and reducing the opponent's numbers. A stronger referee would have brought all that nonsense to a halt and we would still have been left with a football match.

Often the best method when players are committing petty fouls all round the pitch is not to book them. If the referee hadn't been so ready to give a yellow card for every late tackle, the players wouldn't have been going down so easily at every touch. Instead he checked his common sense in before the game and performed like a card-happy automaton. That isn't good refereeing.

Those players controlled themselves just fine in the group games. Would you really say that was a dirty game? Twenty five fouls isn't a great deal. Sixteen yellow cards is absurd.

HOUSTON_M wrote:
If you think this match descended into chaos, blame the players, not the referee.

I agree. But, fuck, it is a men's game.

After he failed to send off Boulahrouz in the first quarter, the game was out of control, though.

Portugal deserved to win, the Netherlands were poor, Kuyt never looked like scoring and Van Basten's refusal to bring on van Nistelrooij when the Dutch needed a goal was irresponsibly stubborn.

And I agree.

Now please excuse us while we pierce our dikes in an attempt for a giant, orchestrated, ritualistic suicide. Goddamnit.

i feel for ya sunlore *gives hug*

omhelzing

Commiserations Netherlander.

I HOPE WE DESTROY THEM.

Hey, you guys are sweet.

It was a fantastic game, I like hard games. Right now it is sooo quiet in the streets.

Zoentjes voor jullie!

instant_zen wrote:... kicked the ball out of bounds

okay okay, so there must be something wrong with my yank-speak. kindly explain. thanks.

Not really wrong, just a phrase unused in soccerball. I was being sniggering and naughty. Sorry. Carry on.