World Cup 2026

[HVC]

You can blame America for a lot of things, how football is played is not one of them

And if you want to see unsportman like conduct in soccer go back to the 70s and 80s

Question though, when you were an athlete would you have stopped a play if the ref missed a call? Would your teammates?

[Sheilbh]

Question though, when you were an athlete would you have stopped a play if the ref missed a call? Would your teammates?

I would expect it in cricket but that's literally the only sport I can think of (hence phrases like about something being "just not cricket"). In this case I don't really know how that could happen - you're asking the ref to overrule FIFA's technology.

As I say I think that technology clearly doesn't work which calls into question other decisions made on the basis of it (Croatia!) but I'm not really sure the ref can overrule that based on on-pitch complaints, even if they are right.

[HVC]

Yeah but in cricket you have 5 days and 600 attempts to make that point back

[HVC]

Again are false positive is different than a false negative. Not that im biased

[Sheilbh]

Again are false positive is different than a false negative. Not that im biased

I just want a Butlerian Jihad against technology in sport. I find it easier to take a human ref's errors (and I'm an Everton fan so I have lists) to ones given the imprimature of factual neutral technology.

I think the connected ball was introduced following Lampard's goal being written off against Germany (it wouldn't have mattered anyway as they were a far superior team). But I don't know I'd rather human error.

[HVC]

Everyone hate technology until it works in their favour

Problem is high def tv and instant replay. Now everyone on a couch is an expert and can out call the ref. So the sport steps in to try to help the ref. Its inivitable.

That being said VAR is way overused. I still say it should only apply in the box and for offsides. But the genie is out so I doubt that'll happen.

[DGuller]

I think one problem with VAR that I can see is that it doesn't mesh well with gray areas that developed over decades of eyesight refereeing.  What may technically be an error from an on-field referee can also be a gray zone that prevents a rule from getting over-applied.  Now that VAR sees a lot more than a referee on the field does, you break the balance that was established under prior regime. 

For example, I think the rules for handball were adjusted in part because VAR was seeing too many handballs in the penalty area,  and most agreed that many of those instances were not deserving of penalties in spirit.  The same process probably needs to be applied to some other rules now.

[crazy canuck]

You're missing my point entirely shelf. I'm not suggesting that the players turned to the raft until the ref he got it wrong. I'm suggesting that when the players saw the ball hit the wire the players ought to have just stopped playing because it was clear to everybody that the ball was dead.

[Josquius]

Totally missed the ball apparently hitting the wire when watching the game and the highlights don't mention it at all.
Apparently technology shows it didn't hit the wire.

Though if it did.... I will always remember the beach ball goal. And maybe karma for Nyland and his hawkeye save way back when?

[HVC]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dav0E9xt0GU


If I was england id be putting up some watch towers along their eastern coast 

[mongers]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dav0E9xt0GU


If I was england id be putting up some watch towers along their eastern coast 

 

That's pretty cool.

If England lose to Argentina or in the final, fans here will probably burn down a few KFCs.

[Norgy]

The return of the national team and the celebration would suggest Norwegians in general are happy with the performance, and don't give two effs about VAR. 

[mongers]

The return of the national team and the celebration would suggest Norwegians in general are happy with the performance, and don't give two effs about VAR. 

I'd like to say there making their triumph in a British double-decker bus? 

[Norgy]

We have learnt so much from you, mostly the tacky and tasteless. 

[Sheilbh]

I think one problem with VAR that I can see is that it doesn't mesh well with gray areas that developed over decades of eyesight refereeing.  What may technically be an error from an on-field referee can also be a gray zone that prevents a rule from getting over-applied.  Now that VAR sees a lot more than a referee on the field does, you break the balance that was established under prior regime. 

For example, I think the rules for handball were adjusted in part because VAR was seeing too many handballs in the penalty area,  and most agreed that many of those instances were not deserving of penalties in spirit.  The same process probably needs to be applied to some other rules now.

Yeah - I think this is where the "clear and obvious error" point was supposed to come in - problem is I don't think that accounts for the effect of the technology or human psychology. So what is clear and obvious changes if you've got multiple screens and angles and slow-mo and still screens. But also I just think refs have doubt the second they're told they should look at something again and too often they don't have a strong enough conviction to stand by their original decision.

I'm sort of with HVC - I don't mind it for the objective rules. You can fiddle around with offside as much as you want, but there will always be an element of drawing a line and really close calls (I can't remember the game but I did feel very sorry for a defender in this World Cup whose ass accidentally played an attacker onside ). Similarly whether a ball cross the line or not is a fact that technology can help establish. On the other stuff it was always supposed to help referees but I'm not sure it has. It feels like it's made everything worse - the quality of officiating but also the amount of time we spend dissecting decisions and how or why things were missed, or is that really a handball. I mention how much time MOTD spends talking about decisions now and I get that they are important incidents but it feels like the time actually talking about the football is shrinking.

You're missing my point entirely shelf. I'm not suggesting that the players turned to the raft until the ref he got it wrong. I'm suggesting that when the players saw the ball hit the wire the players ought to have just stopped playing because it was clear to everybody that the ball was dead.

I don't think we can just say it was clear to everyone - because it wasn't clear to the ref who was on the pitch. So I'm not sure we can just assume it's clear to everyone else on the pitch. I think this is to HVC's point - there's physics explainers about it, many replays and everyone has HD. But also players are trained to play to the whistle - and some of the rules for officials have changed to encourage this such as only flagging an offside attack at the end (unless super obvious/yard offside).

So players stop? The ref didn't see it and the technology didn't ping. So he'd just be telling them to get going again. Chances are the Norwegians would nick the ball and launch because the ref didn't stop play. So it'd be like players stopping because there's a foul the ref hasn't given. But even then we are a mile away from saying those players are cheaters.

Separately just realised that France-Spain is on Bastille Day. Aux armes etc