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If a side gets anything from a game where they haven't had a single goal attempt in nearly 2 hours, there's something wrong.
That was worth staying up for ! The shithousery continued after the final whistle 🤬
I had a 1.5 hour ride to work (on deserted forestry roads) in the middle of that game and I had been thinking about whether I should find a way to have my phone on my bars to watch the game. Christ I'm glad I didn't!
The shithousery continued after the final whistle
Utter lack of class. Absolute disgrace.
I'm here for the Argentinian tears. Especially after that disgusting but predictable post match display. Well deserved by Spain, but not a great spectacle.
Nothing wrong with a slight disagreement at the end of a game.
Argentina had more shots on target against them in that game than Spain had against them all tournament 😲
I have never been so happy to see a team lose as I was then. They fully justified the hate after the whistle blew too.
Bonkers stats for Argentina: 0 shots on goal, 7 yellow cards and two red (if you include the sending off after the end of the game). 25 fouls (the most in a WC match since the 26 in their last final).
Paredes should have been sent off for a second yellow after the Fernandez sending off... and other times.
Pretty sure the Spanish player said something as he ran past celebrating but that's just what the Argentine's having been doing all tournament (Pickford comes to mind after one of the goals in the semi).
Seems they can give it but not take it!
Argentina have had far less bookings per foul then most teams.
If that's "The Beautiful Game" you're welcome to it. I know I wouldn't want any child of mine watching that disgusting display and using any of it as some sort of role model.
Calm down, love. Yes, it was a very poor display from the losing side, but isn’t representative of the game as a whole.
See, for example, the 3rd place game.
Calm down, love. Yes, it was a very poor display from the losing side, but isn’t representative of the game as a whole.
See, for example, the 3rd place game.
OK pet, but it wasn't just the behaviour of the losing side but the fact that it was allowed to continue.
About 18 months ago Guillem Balague wrote a long piece about how we/Germans etc react when faced with the dark arts, often by Atletico Madrid etc, and described us as sanctimonious northern Europeans
The irony is that the Spanish media are calling out this shithousery today as they've been the victims of it
Ah but look who Athletico's long time manager was: Big Chief Dark Art Diego Simone.
English football has had a few themselves: Wimbledon in the 80s and Leeds in the 70s.
Quite nice that Simeone’s son was at fault for the goal and missed the great chance they had to take it to penalties, which was clearly the plan.
Argentina were a disgrace, Tagliafico and Otamendi had a golden opportunity to leave one on Trump when they got their loser medals and they didn't take it, DISGUSTING.
Game was absolutely honking. Can understand Argentina's tactical approach - if they went toe-to-toe with Spain they'd have been taken apart - but it's grim to watch. If they'd sneaked a late equaliser and - entirely undeservedly - taken it to penalties, it would almost have been a fitting denouement for a tournament almost completely overshadowed by the sheer ugliness of FIFA and their ilk. The Qatar tournament was bad enough - possibly redeemed to some degree in the collective memory by a pulsating final - but in the overall accounting, pretty much this whole tournament was just nakedly craven. Urgh.
The shithousery continued after the final whistle
I mean, there's shithousery, and then there's day 3 festival crappers.
I imagine FIFA will have a refereeing post-mortem of the whole tournament - and give themselves a gold star.....
Ref needed to give an early yellow to Argentina to nip things in the bud, but not sure it would have made much difference
Ref needed to give an early yellow to Argentina to nip things in the bud, but not sure it would have made much difference
Pretty much the same as in the semi against England. It still smarts that they got away with that third minute elbowing incident.
They need to ship some rugby refs in to sort out the crap or implement a no players within 5m of ref except for captains rule.
The refs are so weak. At penalties for instance, the keepers come out and stand in front of the taker. Ref tells them to get back on their line and they do nothing. Ref tells them again and again to get back on the line and get ignored. Just book the keeper and lets get on with the game!
FIFA's too corrupt to really stamp down on this barbaric behavior, they let a banned US player back in and like the IOC they are looking for a way to let Russia back in - no doubt also on the guidance of the orangutan.
I definitely feel this tournament brought out the best and worst in football - great performances from some of the small teams and tbe bronze match, versus the whole FIFA/Trump corruption and weak refereeing.
I didn't want to care when it started, but the matches drew me in.
The refs are so weak.
Bring back Pierluigi Collina. He can kill with a single thought... (apologies to Eddie Izzard / Jeff Vader and Mr Stevens...)
He was in charge of the refs & bought in some of the new ideas.
True to the thread title, I'm not a big football fan and had no plans to watch, but got drawn in. I enjoyed it way more than I expected, but hated the obvious bits. I have just one burning question though, for those who do follow the game more closely than me. Why was Madonna lost in an underground car park on a mobility scooter?
Why was Madonna lost in an underground car park on a mobility scooter?
Because she is now that old...
Why was Madonna lost in an underground car park on a mobility scooter?
Why the skaters? Why the muppets? Why was she joined by two Ali G impersonators?
We'll never know.
True to the thread title, I'm not a big football fan and had no plans to watch, but got drawn in. I enjoyed it way more than I expected, but hated the obvious bits. I have just one burning question though, for those who do follow the game more closely than me. Why was Madonna lost in an underground car park on a mobility scooter?
Art. Apparently.
Double post thingy
Well, I suppose when you had those pair of shysters plotting and scheming together, like so many other things involving Trump, Infantino and FIFA, this was depressingly inevitable. they won’t be happy until they’ve completely destroyed the game. They understand the price of everything and the value of nothing. Utter ****s!!
Yearly World Cups, entirely paywalled on TNT. Whole different squads of players for club and national duty as they otherwise end up playing 364 days a year. Messi and Ronaldo cryogenically preserved and wheeled out every year in a perpetual battle for ultimate trading card supremacy.
ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED??
I posted a comment on the BBC subject above, on the FIFA plan to make more money develop the game and asked if there was something in the water in the region of Valais in Switzerland (Blatter and Infantino hometowns are just 10 kms apart) but the Beeb said the comment was against their rules (Trump lawyers) blah blah.
I've been told i have to watch Eastenders for a week as penance
The thing is that in any sane world, this would be immediately voted down.
But we all know the utterly corrupt and morally bankrupt world in which FIFA operates. The development funds blatant bribes being offered to the Member Associations, outside Europe at least, will be trousered (quite literally - and no doubt find there way back to Switzerland in dodgy bank accounts) and they’ll all vote this through.
Maybe it’s now time for the European countries and clubs to wish FIFA good luck with the World Cup without the European nations and their Club World Cup without Real, Barcelona, PSG, City, Liverpool, Bayern etc
Would anyone honestly miss either, with the Champions League and Euros?
I so hope that UEFA walk away – the World Cup would be nothing without the European teams. With the exception of Brazil and Argentina, which national teams have the same draw as the likes of France, Spain, Germany, England, Netherlands, Portugal etc.
Urgh, how can something as sacred as the World Cup be at the mercy of this craven Mekon?
Not sure I'd be counting on a Ceferin-led UEFA to take the moral high ground here, these guys are the quintessential 18-course-lunchers. That is the only way out of this though.
Urgh, how can something as sacred as the World Cup be at the mercy of this craven Mekon?
If you watch the Netflix documentary on FIFA, it shows how it was set up to be institutionally corrupt right from the off. It only exists to enrich those at the top of the organisation and facilitate bribery and embezzlement on a monumental scale.
When UEFA can take the moral high ground, you know the gig is up
From the BBC... https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cvg7vglq9wpo
Fifa president Gianni Infantino has written to all 211 member associations saying they will receive $40m (£30m) if they back his controversial plan to sell off stakes in its major competitions.
How the **** is this a thing? At what point does blatant in your face bribery go beyond a point of no return.
Assuming UEFA boycott.....would a world cup without European teams still make money? I'm guessing so. Who would be the ultimate losers?
Assuming UEFA boycott.....would a world cup without European teams still make money? I'm guessing so.
Of it's own accord (i.e. not artificially propped up by petro-state funding) I don't think so.
What are European audiences like for the Copa America or AFCON? Not spectacular. That's what a World Cup without UEFA member countries would be.
TV audiences aside, there'll always be a market for players who shine in non-UEFA international tournament level but not at the top table. Barring one or two wildcards, no elite player is spending their prime years anywhere other than Europe. The World Cup is probably the best shop window for talent outside the Champions League, which is basically a cartel, so most talent is a known quantity by the time they're playing at that level.
From the BBC article
"Fifa confirms the money will come from "liquidating a minority portion" of its stake on Fifa Forward Enterprise, a subsidiary company set up to maximise commercial revenue that will include private investors."
ESPN website:
FIFA is working with multinational financial services firm J.P. Morgan while investors would include Thrive Eternal, which was launched by Joshua Kushner, whose brother Jared Kushner is a son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Do we need to know any more?
At what point does blatant in your face bribery go beyond a point of no return.
It went past that with the bidding process for a few of the recent WCs. Corruption is just openly enjoyed at FIFA now. Not sure EUFA will have entirely clean hands, but they have they opportunity to do the right thing even at this late stage.
So the next World Cup is being hosted by Portugal & Spain (among others - cos heaven forbid we want to keep things simple when there is money to be made) & UEFA could boycott it.
That would be interesting...
Great news. The World Cup is nothing without the European teams.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c5y67zrrdddo
Can't that Infantino geezer be deposed ?
