[Football] Match Thread : England Women vs USA Womens World Cup Semifinal

[Falmer Flutter ©]

Off side though, (within the existing off side laws) IS black and white. Regardless of how tight it is. It isn't about it being 'clear and obvious' that she WAS off side. Once the images have proved that she was (however tight) then it is CLEAR that a mistake has been made.

Back to our LBW dismissal - let's say the batsman got a tiny feather of an inside edge on the ball. That wouldn't be 'clear and obvious' to the umpire in real time, but once proven, it is still CLEARLY an error.

I suppose it comes down to whether you're in the camp of not really giving a shit if every decision is technically "correct" or whether you're happy with this bizarre desire for perfection over human emotions and fragility. I'm 100% in the former. It just doesn't bother me whether a goal is given for or against my team despite someone's toe being offside, or a penalty not being given despite the ball striking a defender's arm from two yards. In fact, that sense of injustice or getting away with something is a huge part of my viewing experience, as is celebrating a goal or penalty save without having to wait two or three minutes before being told to do so. Just let the game play out and be officiated on the pitch. Mistakes happen, yet millions of people keep coming back week after week.

 

[Stat Brother]

No.

Is the correct answer - Everything else is just semantics.

I'd have said it was a really tough call and given her the benefit of the doubt because she'd be watching it once, in realtime.

And despite the freeze-frame, I'm STILL not convinced VAR got it right, because we can't see if that was the precise moment the ball left her foot. Which could and would make a WORLD of difference to the call.

She was off side.
I know it.
You know it.
We all know it.

The bottom line is the correct decision was made, as per the LAWS of the game.
The issue isn't with VAR, the introduction of VAR or VAR effecting an Albion game.

The issue is with the LAWS of the game and as HKFC has already pointed out, your solution is exactly the same as the current law, open to exactly the same scrutiny.


The only way this doesn't happen is for there to be no offside.

(Music to Murray's ears)

 

[DavidinSouthampton]

Makes me laugh most of the ladies shout ‘man on’ - that’s a fact! Sexist the lot of them........

It's shorter than "woman on", or even "person on".

 

[Easy 10]

If VAR can be brought in as a new technology I would make a suggestion to broaden new rules. Not every time the ref blows their whistle BUT, for a VAR whistle, a foul whistle and a substitution, stop the clock and restart on the refs whistle. In fact it isn't even technology, it's common sense, isn't it?

Sounds like even more of a faff, tbh.

#luddite

 

[Sussex Nomad]

Sounds like even more of a faff, tbh.

#luddite

Why? It's hardly going to waste time to stop time wasting, is it?

 

[Simster]

Let’s see what the TV viewing figures are for tomorrow’s game

High, hopefully. Women's football needs this, aspiring girls need to see this level of exposure too.

So the most watched television programme of 2019 then:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48851455

 

[dazzer6666]

No, because if we're down to a call that close, I'd give the benefit of the doubt to the attacker, as its more in line with the spirit of the game and the reason we have the offside law (which is ultimately in place to prevent goalhanging or forwards having a 2 yard head-start on the last defender). You can't persuade me that White had a CLEAR advantage last night over the last defender.

We used to have a 'benefit of the doubt to the attacker' aspect built into the laws. Why not just adhere to that with offside reviews ? It wouldn't even be anything new.

I'd still use the 'soft signal' approach - if marginal, it stays with the original on-field decision (accepting we then need a mahoosive debate about what constitutes 'marginal' LOL)

 

[boik]

This whole tournament has been given way too much coverage by the media. Women's football is a minority sport which is really of interest to a relatively small number of people. Even women friends of mine are getting fed up with the wall to wall coverage. It was the lead item on the ITV Ten o' Clock News last night! Why? There are so many more important things going on in the world. Thank god it's all over. Maybe now women's football can go back to being two lines on page 5 of the sports section, where it belongs.

I think the 1970s are calling you back. 11.7m viewers is hardly a minority sport. Why don't you just say you don't like womens sport and leave it there.

 

[dazzer6666]

This whole tournament has been given way too much coverage by the media. Women's football is a minority sport which is really of interest to a relatively small number of people. Even women friends of mine are getting fed up with the wall to wall coverage. It was the lead item on the ITV Ten o' Clock News last night! Why? There are so many more important things going on in the world. Thank god it's all over. Maybe now women's football can go back to being two lines on page 5 of the sports section, where it belongs.

So the most watched television programme of 2019 then:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48851455

.......

 

[Sussex Nomad]

I think the 1970s are calling you back. 11.7m viewers is hardly a minority sport. Why don't you just say you don't like womens sport and leave it there.

After watching really my first ever 90 minutes of women's football last night between the best women's side in the world and one of the best, I have to say I thought the standard was bloody awful. I get that in the sense of it being a different platform than men's, I can quite agree with some of what [MENTION=144]goldstone[/MENTION] has said, but it seems to be politically incorrect to call it out on here.

 

[KZNSeagull]

How would that make any difference at all?

You'd still have exactly the same argument - is the attacker COMPLETELY beyond the last defender, or is her heel 3mm still in line? Still comes down to the very same thing.

Yup, I'm with you on this one. If someone is offside by 3mm, they are offside no matter what the rules are. This is precisely why VAR is being used for offsides. And you are also correct with the LBW analogy - VAR is used to ascertain something that has already happened, hawkeye, balltracker etc are used to project something that might have happened, hence umpires call is used on marginal decisions and rightly so.

VAR was also correctly used for the penalty - it was a penalty but a difficult one to see as there was only one angle where it was clear that the defender fouled her. That is why VAR was brought in.

 

[Gazwag]

I can see only flat chested girls playing for England because their boobs may stick out too far.

I'll add to that short hair so when they take a throw in the ball doesn't bounce off an ill placed hair bun on the top of the head resulting in a foul throw. Surely somebody should have thought about that in the England set up.

 

[timbha]

I'll add to that short hair so when they take a throw in the ball doesn't bounce off an ill placed hair bun on the top of the head resulting in a foul throw. Surely somebody should have thought about that in the England set up.

.....and if you take corners wearing stilettos the ball is likely to go straight out

 

[Winker]

So the most watched television programme of 2019 then:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48851455

It will be interesting to see how many watch the final in this country now we are not in it.
I bet it will be less than 11m.

 

[Simster]

It will be interesting to see how many watch the final in this country now we are not in it.
I bet it will be less than 11m.

It is 4pm on Sunday afternoon, which is not great for viewing figures IMO. Had it been in the evening, I reckon there'd have been 9 or 10m watching. Now I reckon it'll be nearer 5 or 6m

 

[hans kraay fan club]

It will be interesting to see how many watch the final in this country now we are not in it.
I bet it will be less than 11m.

I'd imagine the figures for the men's WCF were massively below those of the England semi final

 

[Easy 10]

It is 4pm on Sunday afternoon, which is not great for viewing figures IMO. Had it been in the evening, I reckon there'd have been 9 or 10m watching. Now I reckon it'll be nearer 5 or 6m

Regardless of the kickoff time, now that we're not involved, I bet the viewing figures will plummet to well, well below 5m for the Final. Will probably struggle to make 4.

 

[goldstone]

After watching really my first ever 90 minutes of women's football last night between the best women's side in the world and one of the best, I have to say I thought the standard was bloody awful. I get that in the sense of it being a different platform than men's, I can quite agree with some of what [MENTION=144]goldstone[/MENTION] has said, but it seems to be politically incorrect to call it out on here.

Thank you. That's the most irritating thing about many of the posters on here. They only want you to have an opinion if it's in line with theirs. Typical of a left-leaning city like Brighton. Well I've got a bloody opinion that says women's football is of a very poor standard compared to men's. Not altogether surprising as they've only just started playing the game, but it's a fact.

 

[Icy Gull]

Regardless of the kickoff time, now that we're not involved, I bet the viewing figures will plummet to well, well below 5m for the Final. Will probably struggle to make 4.

Bugger, having not watched a minute I was about to go into Winter Olympic gold medal Curling mode and watch the final if we got there.

 

[Easy 10]

Bugger, having not watched a minute I was about to go into Winter Olympic gold medal Curling mode and watch the final if we got there.

Curling is oddly hypnotic. ostensibly I have absolutely ZERO interest in watching it, I never particularly look out for it, or look forward to it. Then I'll be channel-hopping during the Winter Olympics, randomly come across a curling match between Norway and Belgium, and boom. 3 hours later I'll still be sat there in front of it watching China vs Switzerland in the womens. Then I'll go down my local for an hour and ask them to press the red button so I can catch up on the Canadians. Weird.

As for Sunday, USA will walk all over whoever wins tonight so I doubt I'll bother tuning in, unless I am particularly bored.