The Smith-Rowe strike that gave Arsenal the lead. Correct decision?

siw2007

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Yeah correct decision, no foul on the goalkeeper so the goal had to be given. I think in another scenario where Arsenal might have been knocking the ball about you could have stopped the game and it wouldn’t have been too much of an issue to do so. But I thought the referee handled the situation well.

Funnily enough, I thought the decision played into our hands. The sense of injustice in the crowd and from the players created a bit of a siege mentality for us and probably helped us to win the game. Arsenal might have been better off with the goal being disallowed.
 

The Siege

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100% the right decision. It wasn't a head injury, Arsenal didn't commit a foul and the ref had no obligation to blow the whistle (I'd argue that he shouldn't have blown it even when he did, after the ball was in the net). Arsenal should not have paid the price for that, United left their goal keeperless, regardless of how it happened.

I also have very little sympathy for De Gea because he sprinted at the ref the second the goal was given, so he definitely had enough in the tank to stay up and see the ball out and then call for the physio. It's a dangerous idea to just give goalkeepers an easy way out and destroy all attacking momentum when they go down.
 

Kag

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Of course it’s the correct decision. De Gea behaved like a fanny, and had no issues sprinting up to the referee when it didn’t go his way.

If we score that and it gets ruled out then we (quite rightly) go bloody mental.
 

hellhunter

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Maybe it was correct, but this will be the only time in the PL were play isn't stopped when a GK is down.

Like that time Rooney was swearing. Technically there was a way to ban him, but it never happened before or ever since.
 

Crimson King

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I can't believe how few people in this thread haven't experienced the immediately crippling, but also brief pain, of a twisted ankle. You can easily run it off, but if you're a GK you kind of want the game to stop so you can do that safely. It's not like with an outfield player, where everyone can just drop back a position to momentarily cover them.

It's just a goal that shouldn't stand, and you shouldn't want to see it stand. There's a reason why in over 30 years of watching football I've never seen it happen before. It's not because GKs never go down hurt like DDG did, it's because whenever that's happened before the other team or the ref stop play. And don't give me 'it opens a can of worms' bollocks, players drag out these things anyway, that's no secret. If GK's started doing it regularly from every corner then it would quickly be stamped out.

Also, DDG is one of the least protected keepers in the league. He's made his fair share of mistakes, but it's also ridiculous the amount of goals we've conceded in the last few years where he's literally been elbowed in the face in the build up. Situations where any other keeper would have gotten a foul, but for some reason refs see him as fair game.

The blame for the goal in question lies equally with the Arsenal players for being unsporting cnuts, and Atkinson for just being a cnut. You'll never see that goal ever again, because no other referee in the world will let it happen.
 

Cascarino

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Exactly my thinking, the whistle is always blown when the keeper goes down.. either the referee or the assistant notices and stops play immediately. In my opinion it was the referees mistake not to stop play which VAR should’ve seen as an obvious error, goal should’ve been ruled out and play should’ve continued with the ball in Arsenals possession.
it’s not in the rules. The ref should have blown, but VAR had no jurisdiction to overrule it
 

slyadams

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I can't believe how few people in this thread haven't experienced the immediately crippling, but also brief pain, of a twisted ankle. You can easily run it off, but if you're a GK you kind of want the game to stop so you can do that safely. It's not like with an outfield player, where everyone can just drop back a position to momentarily cover them.

It's just a goal that shouldn't stand, and you shouldn't want to see it stand. There's a reason why in over 30 years of watching football I've never seen it happen before. It's not because GKs never go down hurt like DDG did, it's because whenever that's happened before the other team or the ref stop play. And don't give me 'it opens a can of worms' bollocks, players drag out these things anyway, that's no secret. If GK's started doing it regularly from every corner then it would quickly be stamped out.

Also, DDG is one of the least protected keepers in the league. He's made his fair share of mistakes, but it's also ridiculous the amount of goals we've conceded in the last few years where he's literally been elbowed in the face in the build up. Situations where any other keeper would have gotten a foul, but for some reason refs see him as fair game.

The blame for the goal in question lies equally with the Arsenal players for being unsporting cnuts, and Atkinson for just being a cnut. You'll never see that goal ever again, because no other referee in the world will let it happen.
Agree with this. I probably think either way is justifiable, but a twisted ankle can be painful and also scary initially as you don’t know if you’ve twisted it, sprained it or even fractured it. To suggest you should just jump up is a bit weird. I sprained my ankle badly a month ago, still hurts and I ended up having to get an X-ray just to check.
 

bosnian_red

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Well it’s been like this for ages, GK are protected and favored in every situation, and no they don’t roll their ankles all the time. GK can go and smack himself in the poll, does the game not stop just because it’s not the opposition?
The game doesn't stop if it's part of a dangerous attacking sequence from the opposition, which is the point. Stop the game when the danger is actually cleared, not around the edge of the box with the attacking team.
 

AltiUn

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I'm of the opinion that by the laws of the game, it was the correct decision. I don't blame de Gea for going down as it looked painful, I think it's a bit unsporting that Smith-Rowe scored and I would've expected that goal to be ruled out had we scored it, however I do get it and would be likely annoyed if one of our players didn't take the same opportunity.

What I really didn't like was the celebrations like they'd just won the World Cup. They left a very sour taste in the mouth but was a very impressive microcosm of Arsenal as a club. You sort of felt there was an air of inevitability that Arsenal would lose after that.
 

tothetop96

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I can't believe how few people in this thread haven't experienced the immediately crippling, but also brief pain, of a twisted ankle. You can easily run it off, but if you're a GK you kind of want the game to stop so you can do that safely. It's not like with an outfield player, where everyone can just drop back a position to momentarily cover them.

It's just a goal that shouldn't stand, and you shouldn't want to see it stand. There's a reason why in over 30 years of watching football I've never seen it happen before. It's not because GKs never go down hurt like DDG did, it's because whenever that's happened before the other team or the ref stop play. And don't give me 'it opens a can of worms' bollocks, players drag out these things anyway, that's no secret. If GK's started doing it regularly from every corner then it would quickly be stamped out.

Also, DDG is one of the least protected keepers in the league. He's made his fair share of mistakes, but it's also ridiculous the amount of goals we've conceded in the last few years where he's literally been elbowed in the face in the build up. Situations where any other keeper would have gotten a foul, but for some reason refs see him as fair game.

The blame for the goal in question lies equally with the Arsenal players for being unsporting cnuts, and Atkinson for just being a cnut. You'll never see that goal ever again, because no other referee in the world will let it happen.

There was no twisted ankle
 

Kostov

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The game doesn't stop if it's part of a dangerous attacking sequence from the opposition, which is the point. Stop the game when the danger is actually cleared, not around the edge of the box with the attacking team.
the ball left the box, the ref could have and should have stopped the game, and 99% it’s the case.
Do you remember the Calvert Lewin incident of last season when he elbowed DDG and no foul was given? Am I wrong in thinking it was also Atkinson?
 

wire74

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Yes correct decision , in fact I thought it was embarrassing. I’m a big fan of rugby league if that type of injury happened and a player stayed down they would be laughed off the field. I think he was hoping it was a arsenal player and he would of got a free kick before they even had the shot , he stayed down longer out of embarrassment.
 

Tarrou

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The FA rules state ‘Play is allowed to continue until the ball is out of play if a player is, in their opinion, only slightly injured’, but it also states ‘Exceptions to this ruling are made only for: Injury to a goalkeeper’.

So shouldn’t play have been stopped as soon as the goalkeeper went down injured, regardless whether it was our player or an arsenal player that caused the injury?

Atkinson should’ve noticed De Gea was down injured and stopped play immediately.
Everyone is saying it was the correct decision but according to this it wasn’t

Although it’s a bit vague
 

Cascarino

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Everyone is saying it was the correct decision but according to this it wasn’t

Although it’s a bit vague
The "exception part" is about the need to leave the pitch for treatment, not for stopping the game.
As far as I know, stopping the game for keeper injuries is an unwritten law rather than an actual one.

Edit: Here's the wording

INJURIES
  • allows play to continue until the ball is out of play if a player is only slightly injured
  • stops play if a player is seriously injured and ensures that the player is removed from the field of play. An injured player may not be treated on the field of play and may only re-enter after play has restarted; if the ball is in play, re-entry must be from the touchline but if the ball is out of play, it may be from any boundary line. Exceptions to the requirement to leave the field of play are only when:
    • a goalkeeper is injured
 

Adebisi's Hat

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who do you feckin think ?
Correct decision, some are having a go at Smith-rowe, but he was right to keep playing until the whistle. If this happened in our favour in the last minute at Anfield i would be loving it.
 

chiz2kul

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Why is it even a debate. Goal keepers are way too protected IMO
 

Greck

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Who cares about sportsmanship. If we are in the same situation I would like us to do the same. The game is about taking advantage of the opponents' stupid mistakes. De Gea falling down was our own mistake, Fred was the one who stepped on him, not an Arsenal player. Why should they care?
If the clearance landed with a United player and the counter was on we'd be in their half in a second. I have no problem with what Arsenal did. Played to whistle and let VAR take care of it. If it was anything within their control the goal would have been chalked off anyway. Even the "injury" was a case of mistaken identity because De Gea didn't play to the whistle either.
 

criticalanalysis

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If the clearance landed with a United player and the counter was on we'd be in their half in a second. I have no problem with what Arsenal did. Played to whistle and let VAR take care of it. If it was anything within their control the goal would have been chalked off anyway. Even the "injury" was a case of mistaken identity because De Gea didn't play to the whistle either.
Good point and if the ref had whistled to stop the counter, you know the same people in this thread who said it was the wrong decision would be fuming :lol:
 

OhGee

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Correct decision only because the Ref inexplicably did not see DDG go down. Like how he inexplicably waived away the clear cut Fred penalty. The shot from Smith Rowe was tame and any goalkeeper would have saved it - so lucky for Arsenal
 

Adam-Utd

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Next time DDG should just hold his head, game is instantly stopped whether it's a real injury or not.
 

lex talionis

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Correct decision, without anything remotely resembling a doubt.

There's nothing to debate here other than the wisdom of De Gea's decision to attempt to milk what he thought was a foul committed by an Arsenal player.