That angle looks like there was a kick to the back of the leg, but I still have a hard time calling it justified when Lamela jumps into van Dijk and creates the contact. But whatever, better than Wembley.
I, too, am very confused why everyone claims the 2nd one wasn’t a penalty. He kicked him in the leg, end of story.
Kicking someone in the leg is a foul. A foul in the box is a PK. The refs technically got it right, but it seems like it's against the spirit of the game. Like the catch rule in the NFL.
Right. To me the bigger issue is the rule that any foul in the box is automatically a PK. Some fouls undoubtedly deserve to be punished with PK's, but there are others (like the one against Lamela) where it feels like a PK is too harsh. I'm far from an expert on soccer though so I don't know if there's any kind of viable alternative to the current rule.
I've been advocating a minor foul in the box being a.25 yard FK for years I feel like the only unbiased person who thinks both of those are penalties (second one 100%) but the conversion rate on pks is too high for a foul on a non goal scoring opportunity to be so important
I think the first one was a penalty as well, but it should have never taken place because Kane was offside when the ball was played
The diving with no contact isn't as prevalent or it's much more likely to be recognized now than previously. Players have adapted by creating contact anytime the defender moves their feet and it's beyond ridiculous. I'm fine with requiring a lot more significant contact for pk's. I also wish they'd treat unnaturally dragging your feet to create contact the same as diving.
That last one was never a penalty. Throwing yourself in front of someone right before they kick the ball? Nah, definitely not.
Maybe you're referring to a different rule or I'm just not understanding the difference, but I've seen a lot of players taken down in the box and a penalty not given because they'd lost possession. This falls into that category to me. Didn't have possession, wasn't even playing the ball, just stuck his leg out in front of VvD right before VvD kicked the ball. I think it's a silly call.
Everywhere else on the field the guy throwing a leg in while someone else tries to kick the ball is the guy committing a foul, to me.
Lamela beat him to the spot and VVD kicked him...I don't get why you're acting as though it's Lamela's fault for getting to the spot/ball first.
I understand what you're saying. For me, I just see this more as like when a basketball player tries to slide in at the last second and they call it a block instead of a charge. Strictly speaking Lamela's leg was there first, sure, but he throws it in as VvD is already kicking.
Half the fouls in a match are someone putting their leg in the way of someone who's trying to kick a ball.
Citing PGMOL is a bit disingenuous. The intent of the rule isn’t meant to punish defenders for instinctively stretching for a ball to block it from getting to an attacker.
Most non-Liverpool/Arsenal fans have not been underplaying it. It was a terrible play by Lovren and an incredibly stupid play by VVD. Shame for them, too, because Liverpool's defense had actually looked good until those two miscues. Spurs were dominant in the second half but Liverpool's defense kept their chances to a minimum.