Australia vs Italy

[swatkat]

Dude. That was sad. *Really* unfortunate. It really was a penalty, though - totally tripped him. A neat trick, the way he lifted his leg and his elbow. But maybe he should've remembered that he was *inside the damn penaltybox* and that it was a damn *scoring move* and there was only *half a minute left*.

The Australians were dominating alright, but they couldn't penetrate much. Where were the moves they made against Croatia? The goalkeeper, though, was spectacular.

Man. That was sad.

Comments

[zeft.livejournal.com]

He didn't trip him. He fell over. And then the Italian fell over him.

[swatkat24.livejournal.com]

Oh, but he neatly lifted his arm and his leg while he was on the ground, and *then* the Italian fell over. I'm pretty sure I saw that on the replays. Maybe it wasn't intentional, but it's difficult to say - it was a penetrating move, and inside the penalty box. I don't think the referee had a choice.

[zeft.livejournal.com]

There wasn't even any contact. If Neill fell and then then Italian fell over him, then it's a dive.

[swatkat24.livejournal.com]

I don't know, it seemed there was some contact in the replays. They showed quite a few angles. It would have been a legitimate dive only if he hadn't lifted his arm and his leg to obstruct the Italian further. But hey, I'm not an expert - maybe I'm mistaken. *shrugs*

[zeft.livejournal.com]

I imagine he lifted his arm because he didn't want to be on the ground. He was about a second late and there was no contact at the crucial point.

But it's all old news now.

[swatkat24.livejournal.com]

See, it could be either way. It's the thing with football - even if it wasn't intentional, it can certainly look that way.

Australia deserved better. Their moves were oddly unpenetrating today, but still. I was hoping they'd outrun Italy during extra time.

[zeft.livejournal.com]

It's all Fifa and their stupid directives. They've been trying for ages to turn football into a non-contact sport.

Now I'm torn between hoping Italy get thumped by Switzerland/Ukraine or Italy do the same thing to someone else just to pile on the injustice.

[swatkat24.livejournal.com]

That's the thing, actually. According to the rules, the referee had no option. But it's a stupid rule - what was he supposed to do, stand there and watch?

I'm not sure if Ukraine or Switzerland can beat Italy - they have a similar lack of penetrative power. But Italy won't last against a team like Germany.