UEFA slams FIFA's 'unprecedented, unjustifiable' Balogun decision

Post by bhupy » Wed, Jul 08, 2026, 9:39 PM UTC

Arodex wrote: post #79

bhupy wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeesh, this conversation has run its course.

It run its course the minute you "honestly" thought the Belgians were whining and the Americans weren't. You have no argument remaining, especially now that Olise's yellow card has been left in place. Wouldn't the game be more interesting if he played without it? Isn't it controversial too?

I don't think you fully understand who you are arguing against.

I also think Olise's yellow card was unjustified. I think it should be overturned also. Even without overturning it, at least he still gets to play, so that's good for all of us as spectators.

The process sucks since it's arbitrary. In a better world there would be a universal appeals process.

Post by LanceH » Sat, Jul 11, 2026, 10:07 PM UTC

redwoolf wrote: post #80

LanceH wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm not sure VAR is the net-benefit we think it is. It is for offside. Offside calls were so egregiously bad it was painful to watch. Any time a defense got burned badly, the flag would go up. Early 2000's someone watched an entire world cup and found that 25% of offside calls were obviously wrong. I just rewatched the US v Germany match from 1998, and Kobi Jones was called offside on a breakaway when he was onside…

Then perhaps it’s the offsides rule that needs revision. Do you think the spirit of the rule is captured by foot position analysis? If two players bodies are in alignment and the attackers leg is just beyond the leg of the defender, does that really matter? The rule was designed to stop attackers from sitting deep between the defenders and the goalie.

Ok, I agree with this. The offside rule is just weird. A person with a wide stance would simultaneously be close to be both endlines. In any normal sense if one person is further south, the other person is further north -- not so with the offside rule.

It also used to be that "even with was onside". Now there is no such thing as even with.

At this point with this tech, they could view both torses and say an entire torso has to be clear.

None of this helps soccer below the level with VAR.

The rule was designed to keep attackers from being "offside". For practical purposes, the offside trap has turned into a right for the defense.

At least the current rule is deterministic, rather than erring on the side of the defense over and over.

Re: UEFA slams FIFA's 'unprecedented, unjustifiable' Balogun decision

Re: UEFA slams FIFA's 'unprecedented, unjustifiable' Balogun decision