[sdm]

Wilson also walked for a foul that was almost identical to one of Verratti's many cynical fouls; for which Veratti wasn't even booked.

The amount of cynical fouling and diving is the main reason for me losing interest in football over the years. "Good fouls" are one of the most effective methods of defence to stop any attack that has decent momentum. I would rather see every one of these intentional fouls where there was no attempt to play the ball punished with a red card or a yellow card with a sin-bin. Instead, nearly all of them are punished with at most a yellow card, but a handful of them per season (such as Wilson's) get a red despite no difference in severity.

The use of VAR across the tournament was awful. There is no consistency when the default is to only overturn the most egregious of refereeing errors. If VAR is to have any value, 2 identical plays have to result in 2 identical decisions.

Rugby is such a great example of how to use technology to try and reach consistently correct decisions and inform the fans of how the referees made those decisions. But football insists on a rubbish hybrid that achieves no consistency and doesn't inform players of how the referees reach their decision, leaving fans feeling unneccessarily angry.

[Wellsy]

People always say this but tbh I thought the refereeing in the final was fantastic, I loved what that ref was doing. Crack on and keep playing.

[danm]

I agree, generally fantastic fluid refereeing, allowing play to continue and allow advantage instead of stop start bullshit. One of the highest quality tournaments in modern times for attacking, positive play and for the officiating allowing this, I thought.

[Ged]

watch out for the specks of dust getting in your eyes...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/football/57805083

[nai]

Call that dusty...

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/articles/raheem-sterling-england-it-was-all-a-dream

[sdm]

I agree, generally fantastic fluid refereeing, allowing play to continue and allow advantage instead of stop start bullshit. One of the highest quality tournaments in modern times for attacking, positive play and for the officiating allowing this, I thought.

I agree that the use of advantage and letting the games flow was generally good.

But of the games that I watched (about 4 live, plus highlights of a few more), the referees got a large number of the major decisions (goal/no goal, penalties and red cards) wrong.

These mistakes can decide games. With the technology they have available, this number of mistakes shouldn't happen.

Maybe I just happened to watch the games where the referees and VAR performed poorly on the major decisions.

[Ged]

How did they get goal/no goal wrong?  That's just a buzz on their watch isn't it?

[sdm]

I meant as in whether or not a goal should have been disallowed due to fouls etc in build up, not whether it had crossed the line.

[mark20]

How did they get goal/no goal wrong?  That's just a buzz on their watch isn't it?

not in this competition but t has happened-
Sheffield United’s “ghost goal” against Aston Villa a couple of seasons ago, when it clearly crossed the line but the watch didn’t buzz. VAR didn’t over rule. Finished 0-0 and that point may have kept Villa up that season. Some Sheffield United fans are still bitter about it ...
I’ll post my thoughts on the Euros when I’ve fully recovered 

[Wellsy]

How did they get goal/no goal wrong?  That's just a buzz on their watch isn't it?

not in this competition but t has happened-
Sheffield United’s “ghost goal” against Aston Villa a couple of seasons ago, when it clearly crossed the line but the watch didn’t buzz. VAR didn’t over rule. Finished 0-0 and that point may have kept Villa up that season. Some Sheffield United fans are still bitter about it ...
I’ll post my thoughts on the Euros when I’ve fully recovered 

This one is

[SA Chris]

https://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/19436757.worcester-dad-says-twitter-account-hacked-racist-football-tweet/

Uh-huh. sure mate

[galpinos]

https://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/19436757.worcester-dad-says-twitter-account-hacked-racist-football-tweet/

Uh-huh. sure mate

Same defence as the Manchester estate agent.

[SA Chris]

I know, amazing coincidence. Someone hacks your account purely to make a racist comment.

[SamT]

Usual Pie vitriol .. but kinda sums up my feelings.

[highrepute]

Very cathartic viewing.

I can just imagine Rashford trying to calm himself for his penalty. And yet, thoughts of children not getting school dinners keep creeping in. He starts his run up and tear wells in his eye, his vision obscured. And the rest, as they say, is history.