RateTheRef

Quote from: ajb95 on Sun 27 Sep 2020 17:54

Well done to Peter Bankes for the worst penalty decision of the season - in a season full of **** decisions.

The lawmakers need to hang their heads in shame at the way the professional (and all) levels of football are turning into. It’s a farce!!

That today has never been handball in any era under any laws!!

You can blame the lawmakers if you want - but I don't think you can blame any specific referee/VAR who have consistently applied the law as directed so far.

There were something like 57 penalties given in Italy last season for handball so I fear you're going to be writing that sort of post a lot this season!

If I have to write it every week so be it

Maybe english fans, the english media, the english teams should just lump it?

There's a certain air of the english holidaymaker here, English arrogance.

And ajb95 can criticise every referee by name every week, oh and by the way - that today was a handball in the current era of the rules.  Redstripe can come out with these ridiculous assumptions of empty stadiums and not actually knowing who to blame. TAGW can play the "poor Spurs" card all they like but when Spurs start getting these calls they'll probably remain silent.

You can moan all you like about it and act like a 3 year old because he didn't get to watch his tv program when eating his dinner (= full blown tantrum) or you can just move on with your life and accept it.

As Dale said on twitter, if we had implemented it at the same time (just after the world cup) then everyone would've been going off the same interpretation with the momentum of the world cup.

A case of a perfect application of an imperfect law.

No blame whatsoever on the officials on the day, they did their job as prescribed in law (more particularly its current interpretation).

Now with regard to the question raised by Matt of, "English Arrogance", one cannot help but be somewhat sympathetic to this viewpoint considering the manner in which handball has been more leniently treated in England and particularly with regard to how the EPL implemented VAR. For me though this is really an issue with the law and not with any one country's reaction to its implementation (indeed I fear the reaction had that penalty been given in the Airtricity League here for example!!).

I understand that the law has aimed to take out the subjectiveness in the decision and essentially make it easier for the officials. I feel however that incidents like the one today are extremely difficult to detect live and essentially rely on VAR to be in operation to be penalised consistently. I think 9/10 referees would have played on as Bankes did today without VAR intervention.

Really though the issue is what everyone is saying - the interpretation is just far too harsh and leads to decisions that feel farcical. I think we should go back to trusting referees to decide what is/isn't deliberate handball.

Finally its funny to hear pundits make comments along the lines of "we all know what handball really is" and that VAR is "ruining the spectacle of the game". The same pundits who for years complained of referees inability to understand a players intention and who yearned for video technology to be introduced.......be careful what you wish for??

I agree that the English game is attempting to impose its own interpretation on the world game - this interpretation has been seen elsewhere in the world for at least two years (just think back to the 2018 World Cup fianl as mentioned) so it's nothing new for most of the footballing world.

With VAR, FIFA etc had to try and find a universal approach and consistency rather than the precious woolly subjective definition which had loads of debate and disagreement (how many handballs in the penalty area were really 'deliberate'?)

It's jarring because we're not used to it but the trend in Germany is players have adapted and penalties have been reduced. As Graeme Souness said, if you were starting football from scratch now and made a law of 'if the ball hits the hand it will generally be penalised apart from very exceptional circumstances' then there wouldn't necessarily be much dissent.

It's obviously only a universal approach where matches have VAR in use. Have any of these handballs actually been spotted at the time of the offence by the on field referee yet? 

it seems teams can level matches or win them by getting penalties by kicking/heading the ball against an entirely unsuspecting defender from point black range, which cannot be right.

I said the same thing to a friend last night. How is this football when a penalty can be won merely by kicking the ball at the hand of an opponent?

When even the manager who receives the penalty calls it madness , surely that is a sign for Reading Fan etc to get a grip

The question I have is what do cultures outside England think of all of this? If we logged onto the Spanish or South American Rate The Ref site, would they be calling this 'madness' or would they be saying 'That's a clear penalty - what is everyone over there complaining about?'

If the latter, then why should hte English interpretation necessarily be chosen over other views that exist across the world?

Quote from: Readingfan on Mon 28 Sep 2020 11:19

The question I have is what do cultures outside England think of all of this? If we logged onto the Spanish or South American Rate The Ref site, would they be calling this 'madness' or would they be saying 'That's a clear penalty - what is everyone over there complaining about?'

If the latter, then why should hte English interpretation necessarily be chosen over other views that exist across the world?

Perhaps FIFA should carry out a survey of all the 211 countries which are registered members and ask them about handball, after all, they will all be using VAR as well won't they and watching English football on TV so let FIFA earn their keep and ask the relevant questions.

Bundesliga games over the weekend - 9
Penalties awarded                            - 3
Penalties awarded for handball          - 0

Not sure if this means anything, apart from that the BL players have had at least a season to ensure that they don't put their hands in the way of the ball in the penalty area...