FIFA World Cup 2014 - GROUP E [Switzerland, Ecuador, France, Honduras - 15/20/25 June] **spoilers**

[drunkenmaster]

Left foot planted doesn't mean anything, not least because he initially jumped in two footed, he put his left foot down but his momentum and almost all his weight was moving forward through the other leg. His studs were up, he went through the player, getting the ball didn't matter. It was an entirely reckless challenge easily capable of breaking a leg. Intent doesn't matter, it was reckless here and made contact.

If he was standing still with a leg planted they all his weight and all the force would be on the standing leg, that wasn't the case here, he jumped into a tackle and almost the full force went through his studs and crashed into the player, god awful "tackle".

 

[Purdy]

That Valencia challenge was never a sending off in a million years for me, yes his studs were raised, but his left foot was planted .... it's unfortunate the way the French lad came in that means he got caught.

Not malicious in the slightest in my eyes, it doesn't appear to me like he's gone in to go through the player, he takes a fair chunk of the ball. A yellow would have been fair but a red is a harsh decision.

Left foot doesn't look very planted

 

[McBain]

^^ That's before he's even made contact with the lad, or the ball.

As for DM, I can't say I agree in the slightest, but then you say the same thing every time one of these challenges goes in, and I never agree.

I'm watching a replay, i'll admit it does look worse than I originally thought, but for me it's mainly because he's gone a little over the ball. I'm still not convinced that's a red.

 

[Purdy]

I thought if you jump towards a tackle two feet off the ground you're deemed as out of control even if you land them a split second before contact? I could be wrong though

Sakho should be looking at a ban coming, Giroud too.

 

[McBain]

I thought if you jump towards a tackle two feet off the ground you're deemed as out of control even if you land them a split second before contact? I could be wrong though

Sakho should be looking at a ban coming, Giroud too.

Yeah, as above i've watched a replay and it does look worse the second time round of watching it. In real time I didn't think anything of it. I still think i'd be upset if i'd been given a red for that though.

Actually, I take it back entirely. After seeing the gif from here, yeah that's a nastier challenge than I thought.

http://gifsection.com/2014/06/antonio-valencia-given-red-card-france-ecuador/#.U6tQLGRDuTU

 

[drunkenmaster]

I thought if you jump towards a tackle two feet off the ground you're deemed as out of control even if you land them a split second before contact? I could be wrong though

Sakho should be looking at a ban coming, Giroud too.

I think in general it can be deemed as out of control, but there are loads of those tackles where people jump into a slide but land say 1-2metres from the player, those are the ones where refs often completely over react.

When you're completely off the floor, coming in at pace and off the floor with no way to stop yourself landing on a player... that is a bad tackle. That you can get one foot down before contact makes little sense. Basic physics, if you are moving at say 20kph, jump, and put one foot down, is there anyway anyone will ever not topple over with just one foot down? No, if you put one foot down while moving at pace you'll simply fall forward, you have no weight in that leg/foot, your force is moving forwards, not down, it's physically impossible for the weight to be supported by that leg, it's why anyone running at pace has to take multiple steps using each step to slow down. If you try and stop from a run in one step you again would just flop over face first, legs can be down but that doesn't mean that is the direction your weight(and therefore force behind a tackle) is moving.

All of Valencia's weight was still travelling forward, into the foot that went studs into a players leg, it's reckless to anyone who can understand basic physics.

I don't think there was any intent at all, and it didn't immediately look like he'd gone in off the floor, but it was entirely reckless and well worthy of a red card. Valencia is just a run at full pace with no brains kind of footballer, no intent, but no sense either.

 

[drunkenmaster]

Yeah, as above i've watched a replay and it does look worse the second time round of watching it. In real time I didn't think anything of it. I still think i'd be upset if i'd been given a red for that though.

Actually, I take it back entirely. After seeing the gif from here, yeah that's a nastier challenge than I thought.

http://gifsection.com/2014/06/antonio-valencia-given-red-card-france-ecuador/#.U6tQLGRDuTU

hehe, that gif even shows him landing with a knee into the ribs which I hadn't noticed before, that is unlucky more than anything but, the way the left leg buckles is because the weight isn't in that leg, the leg is being pulled forward with the rest of his body weight. two footed/one footed is a fairly silly/arbitrary distinction by refs/rules. With a foot down a lot of tackles just like that one get described as maybe not as bad as they should be even though weight/force wise there is almost no difference if that had been two footed. Hell, sometimes two feet means that force gets spread out over a larger area, all the weight in one foot can actually be worse in terms of damage.

It gets worse the more you see it for sure, and I still don't think any intent, just utterly stupid.

 

[McBain]

In real time it looked like he simply over stretched for the ball whilst running.

After seeing that gif though, i'll hold my hand up, I did't see the lunge in real time. I guess the fact the linesman was all of 5 yards aways says it all really, he couldn't miss that.

I agree, no intent, just recklessness more than anything. He didn't seem that upset at the decision either, which again says a lot.

 

[drunkenmaster]

Yeah, linesman made it a tad easy and obvious. Bit weird, kinda wanted them to go through as the other Valencia had been really good to watch. Honduras I would have cried or something if they go through, one of the most undeserving teams I've seen enter the world cup, utterly wrong attitude, glad that even the Swiss beat them. The Swiss kind of like them, but with Djourou/Senderos in that defence as with the French game, they aren't going to get anywhere. Shaqiri looks quite the player and Drmic set up two of his goals brilliantly. Inler/Behrami have so far disappointed.

I wouldn't mind seeing them get further but with that defence I think they'll be easy pickings, and unless Inler/Behrami play better than they have I don't think they'll be able to score quite so easily against a better team.