Bobski
Full Member
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2017
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- 11,028
Pretty sure Rudiger was also holding Smalling's shirt at the same time in fairness, so I don't see how they could give a penalty when they're both "at it"
But yeah, even still, he needs to calm it down a bit with VAR coming into the PL
I think the FA and the refs needs to release some guidelines about what is acceptable. Football is a contact sport, and grappling to control or get to a position, especially on set pieces has always been part of the game. The WC showed some wildly inconsistent use of VAR, some ridiculous wrestling moves overlooked while everyday defending was at times punished with penalities.
Everything looks worse on slow-mo and it is one of those obtuse areas where a high level of contact has always been allowed but there is nothing in the laws that has defined that. Same with certain fouls not being enough for a penalty but outside the box it will always be a FK. Most people implicitly understand the difference but again no laws defining it.