What a match

And VAR was supposed to sort out all these issues....
It is gone to the stage that if a players eye lash is a head of the line then it's off side . It's a pure joke. VAR is , still , the most talked about after most games , which takes from the game itself...such a pity .
 
Agree @joer. I think the standard of officiating at high level is actually very high. Notwithstanding human error which turned a win into a draw or loss, I miss the Monday morning debate over the controversial goal. Always taking the side of a favourable decision for my team, and being revulsed over dodgy decisions that cost - and the camaradeirie that would follow between rival fans, and friends.

Maybe I'm just too old now. I'm all for VAR if it does what is intended to clear-up controversial decisions, but hardly a week goes by where the controversy is with VAR. And instead of rival fans getting into the heart of the favourable/dodgy decision with each other, they are fighting over a third party sitting in an office somewhere.
 
2nd leg in Munich last night was a good enough game. The hand-ball rule is blatant and I could not understand why the referee didn't take appropriate action or send the matters of hand-ball to VAR. Why have VAR, if you are not going to use it?

Without mentioning names a certain PSG player spent as much time horizontal as he nearly did perpendicular. Some other players were nearly as bad. The black-art of diving now seems to be part-and-parcel of the game and even supported by some TV commentators. The stadium wasn't attacked by exploding Russian drones and missiles, so why do players after light tackles roll around on the ground as if they were seriously wounded?

The time wasting by PSG was appalling also. No chance went by without them killing off any movement. I won't mention the PSG goalkeeper who found touch more often from his kick-outs than Johnny Sexton would. There was even one kick-off from the centre circle that touch was found.

I like that Harry Kane is still performing. Despite comments from some TV pundits, I thought he had a good enough game and attracted lots of attention from the opposition anytime he was in contact with the ball. Harry's father and grandfather left the west of Ireland on different decades to work in England and neither had a word of English. I hope Harry has a good World Cup. I won't be supporting England (I won't be supporting any other team either) but I like the Irish connection of Harry Kane.
 
Duke of Marmalade said:
And in an Agathe Christie like twist Wu (pronounced by the audience Woooo) missed an almost equally unmissable black off its spot when 17/16 up in the final albeit there was still some but not much snooker left to play to seal the deal.
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He also missed a very easy shot in the Semi which would have won the frame.
 
Sister Sara said:
However, if a defensive player puts their own body in the way of an attacking shot and blocks, and then the ball deflects against that players hand/arm, without any obvious intention (ball to hand) a strict interpretation applies and its a penalty!?!?
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It's in the law of the games (not just Champions League), wasn't an interpretation.
IFAB Law 12
it is not a handball if "hit on the hand/arm by the ball which has been played by a team-mate (unless the ball goes directly into the opponents' goal or the player scores immediately afterwards, in which case a direct free-kick is awarded to the other team)"

Different story if it was deliberate.

I think most of the controversy from these issues in the media is that most pundits commentating on the game either don't know the laws or just ignore them. They just come out with "not a penalty for me, going for the ball, not offside by much etc"

Referee probably deserves credit for knowing his job.

Some explanation here.
www.bbc.com

Why was Joao Neves handball against Bayern Munich not a penalty?

Bayern Munich players, coaching staff and fans at the Allianz Arena were in disbelief after they were denied a penalty for a handball by Joao Neves in their semi-final second leg against Paris St-Germain.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
 
Some surprising trivia ahead of the Champion's League final later this month...
It's only the fourth time – and the first for 55 years – that clubs from two different capitals have contested the final of that competition, following Benfica v Real Madrid in 1962, Real Madrid v Partizan Belgrade in 1966 and Ajax v Panathinaikos in 1971.
Seen in When Saturday Comes.
 
Duke of Marmalade said:
Celtic have snatched the Scottish Premiership.
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Dramatic finish to a dramatic season although Celtic did their best to self-sabotage with a bizarre managerial choice before being rescued by Martin O'Neill.
There could and should be trouble coming their way though if reports of Hearts players on the pitch being harassed by Celtic fans following pitch invasion are true.

On a more light-hearted note... this t-shirt chose him:

A US man who accidentally became an Ipswich Town fan when a T-shirt order went wrong said he planned to follow their Premier League journey after an "incredible" run to promotion. Just before Christmas, Zach Peterson, 40, from Lincoln, Nebraska, ordered a Chicago Bears American football themed T-shirt for a colleague. But when it arrived in the post, he was instead greeted with an Ipswich Town top, leaving him confused and frustrated. However, after doing some online research about the team, he became engrossed in their chase to the top flight - and he now plans to cheer on the club from more than 4,000 miles (6,400km) away.

www.bbc.com

T-shirt blunder sees US man become Ipswich Town fan

A T-shirt mishap over in the United States leads a man on an Ipswich Town journey of discovery.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
 
"City put the ball in the Chelsea net (Two times, two times)
City put the ball in the Chelsea net, two times today
Two times today, two times today
City put the ball in the Chelsea net (Two times, two times)
City put the ball in the Chelsea net, two times today."

What a bunch of dummies on the BBC panel. Chelsea this, Chelsea that, Chelsea the ovver fing, in their broken English (although Rooney has improved in recent months) the only threat on the field was from the City forwards. Chelsea huffed and puffed with loads of possession in the 2nd half but did nothing with it. City scored with a moment of inspiration, displaying exquisite skill and were deserving winners.

Do panellists get paid? If they do maybe they'd invest some of their pay in English grammar and pronunciation lessons, after all, there may be children watching.

Well done Cihy and I fink I spo'ed a Gallagur in the stands, innit.
 
I've had enough of thick stupid panellists and pre match ludicrous talk and I don't listen to them anymore. I make an exception for panellists on RTE. I wrote a post such as @mathpac above and was accused of being racist here. Whatever I am, I'm not racist. I enjoy the hurling pundits though and they know what they are talking about. Liam Sheedy is brilliant along with Donal Óg Cusack and Joe Canning is excellent too. But, when I hear UK pundits and commentators saying "he should have taken a dive while inside the penalty area" etc, I gave up. Joanne is brilliant and gets the best out of pundits and I think she deserves more credit than she is being given.

On RTE Radio, listening to John Mullane assisting on live matches is brilliant. Whatever jumps in his mind he says. He has a passion for hurling and "loves me county." I reckon he doesn't practice beforehand what he says and when he says something it comes from the heart. In the UK Roy Keane is not the best of pundits in any game, but he is the best of what's around there.
 
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While I'm on a roll, let's hear it for Connacht qualifying for the Last 8 of the URC. Their recent run of wins was quite an achievement. And I'm not forgetting Dublin hurlers either, well done to them too.
 
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Leper said:
I wrote a post such as @mathpac above
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Aw come on now @Leper, did you go to the trouble of composing a song as an introduction to your post? No, I thought not; that was the real reason it got dis-published, which of course never, ever happens to moi, as my favourite Muppet might say. The members of my creative writing group would be full of praise for my artistic endeavour above :rolleyes:

Back on "What a Match" topic, what a bore was yesterday's Leinster vs Ospreys game. Ospreys were completely out-classed and seemed under-resourced in most areas, though they never lacked spirit, a couple of their front-rows in particular. The final score could have been any number you'd care to choose. I know any team can only compete against what's presented by the opposition, but I think there needs to be some form of divisional split or tiering in those competitions.
 
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