Now know how LiVARpool

ps. Apologies for the spelling errors.

Okay, we’ll I respect your opinion and thank you for your clarification re: correct.

I have to say though, I completely disagree with you.

What you seem to be advocating is removing all subjectivity from the game where possible - that just won’t work and every towards that, including this one, spoils the game.

Of course it’s impossible to prove intent, but let’s be honest, the vast majority of us would tend to agree if the situation like you’d described happened - it would clearly be handball.

I think it’s a shame that the people in charge of football believe this law is the best it can be but I find it baffling when fans actually buy into it.

As a centre half myself (retired!), it’s absurd that I couldn’t just play the game honestly and instead, would have to consciously place my arms in an unnatural position simply not to be punished for a ball hitting me.

Whilst you may solve this apparent problem with not knowing whether there was intent, you create one by punishing people who actually did nothing wrong and were just struck by a ball.

I personally think it comes from modern fans’ inability to accept refereeing decisions. This desire for a game where everyone agrees that the right decision was made... for apparent consistency. It won’t ever happen and the game will be spoiled in attempts to get to that point.

comment by Winston (U16525)
posted 13 minutes ago
Okay, we’ll I respect your opinion and thank you for your clarification re: correct.

I have to say though, I completely disagree with you.

What you seem to be advocating is removing all subjectivity from the game where possible - that just won’t work and every towards that, including this one, spoils the game.

Of course it’s impossible to prove intent, but let’s be honest, the vast majority of us would tend to agree if the situation like you’d described happened - it would clearly be handball.

I think it’s a shame that the people in charge of football believe this law is the best it can be but I find it baffling when fans actually buy into it.

As a centre half myself (retired!), it’s absurd that I couldn’t just play the game honestly and instead, would have to consciously place my arms in an unnatural position simply not to be punished for a ball hitting me.

Whilst you may solve this apparent problem with not knowing whether there was intent, you create one by punishing people who actually did nothing wrong and were just struck by a ball.

I personally think it comes from modern fans’ inability to accept refereeing decisions. This desire for a game where everyone agrees that the right decision was made... for apparent consistency. It won’t ever happen and the game will be spoiled in attempts to get to that point.
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Your penultimate paragraph uses a phrasing i disagree with and I think sums up our different views. You say has done nothing wrong but was struck by a ball. This again looks too much at the intent rather than the action itself. In many cases you could just as accurately describe it as "blocked the ball with his hand, against the rules". It is the act itself, rather than the reason behind the act that is the foul.

Its no different than many other fouls where you could say that the defender did nothing wrong but missed the ball. It is still a foul in accordance with the laws of the game. Even if the defender genuinely slips and falls, if he brings another player down in the process then a foul has been committed.

Intent and whether an act is deliverste has its position in the punishment, with cards and sending offs more likely for deliberate or dangerous acts.

You are right that there won't be a time when every decision is 100% correct, but football is meant to be a contest and so rules need to be able to be applied as consistently as possible to make that contest fair. The clearer the rule, the more consistently it can be applied because it is easier to see when something was definitely wrong and clamp down on it.

Okay well I appreciate we won’t agree.

The idea though that a ball can hit an arm and the defender is adjudged to have done something wrong is just something I can’t get onboard with.

As you know, I’m a fan of enabling referees to use their judgement rather than trying to make laws so black and white that they don’t need any interpretation.

But if they’re going to do it then they may as well go down the hockey route and say that any contact with the hand is a foul.

At least there wouldn’t be this ridiculous ‘unnatural position’ definition.

just not football

comment by Winston (U16525)
posted 22 minutes ago
Okay well I appreciate we won’t agree.

The idea though that a ball can hit an arm and the defender is adjudged to have done something wrong is just something I can’t get onboard with.

As you know, I’m a fan of enabling referees to use their judgement rather than trying to make laws so black and white that they don’t need any interpretation.

But if they’re going to do it then they may as well go down the hockey route and say that any contact with the hand is a foul.

At least there wouldn’t be this ridiculous ‘unnatural position’ definition.
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Fair enough.

Appreciate the debate

comment by Winston (U16525)
posted 25 minutes ago
Appreciate the debate
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comment by Dr Tobias Fünke (U1217)
posted 17 hours, 41 minutes ago
comment by Automatic For The People #BLM (U21889)
posted 3 hours, 54 minutes ago
comment by Terminator1 (U1863)
posted 5 minutes ago
comment by Automatic For The People #BLM (U21889)
posted 14 minutes ago
LiVARpool.

Use the word.
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It’s great how our success ruins your life so much. Keep it up, there’s a good boy 👍
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LOL.

We’re already going to be above you on goal difference this time tomorrow.
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I dunno, Everton might be better than Spurs now to be honest.
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comment by Automatic For The People (U21889)
posted 22 hours, 2 minutes ago
comment by Terminator1 (U1863)
posted 5 minutes ago
comment by Automatic For The People #BLM (U21889)
posted 14 minutes ago
LiVARpool.

Use the word.
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It’s great how our success ruins your life so much. Keep it up, there’s a good boy 👍
----------------------------------------------------------------------
LOL.

We’re already going to be above you on goal difference this time tomorrow.
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Good old Sizzle, the gift that keeps on giving 😊