World Cup 2018 | 15th June Matches | Next Match: Portugal vs Spain, KO 19:00 (BST)

[SkyBlueTX]

Does anyone on here honestly think that we would have been given that same penalty? Aguero and Sterling both get regularly mauled in the box way worse with the ref waving play on. If that’s the standard then this was not a penalty.

 

[mat]

Does anyone on here honestly think that we would have been given that same penalty? Aguero and Sterling both get regularly mauled in the box way worse with the ref waving play on. If that’s the standard then this was not a penalty.

I'm sure we'll find out on Monday...

The thin Pat Butcher has been practicing cheating VAR.

 

[Maldeika]

Watched the Iranians in Germany in 2006, half the fans were women, and most had flown in from London. Most surreal flight back with ryanair, the flight was about 90% Iranian, and they bought everything that wasn't nailed down, they had a great time. I'll bet there are very few who have travelled to Russia from Iran.

Still it will be a fantastic night in Tehran tonight I imagine.

We have a very big iranian expat group in Germany. My neighbour of my first flat was Iranian - married to a German. They had a small boy in my sons age and we used to make a lot together. On the weekends a lot of them met in a park in Frankfurt for some kind of barbecue in the summer and at several occasions we went with them.

Wikipedia counts about 150.000 iranian expats in Germany - half of them with iranian passports. Britain, Sweden and France have a big group of iranian expats, too.
The special about the iranian expats in Germany is that they in average have a better education than the Germans have. 50% of them have atleast a bachelor degree - a quarter of them are lawyers, doctors, teachers, engineers or lawyers.

So yes - most probably will be from West Europe and it is usually wealthy people.

 

[mosssideblue]

Took Spain a little time to get going and imo were the better team. A great game to watch.

 

[SWP's back]

Ronaldo has 'dived' twice.

We can argue about the amount of contact etc, but neither player was remotely trying to foul him, they were just moving to try & intercept. Their crimes, were not being able to retract their challenges quickly enough, to stop Ronaldo manufacturing fouls out of the situations.

Because v.a.r. saw nothing wrong in his actions (as opposed to the opposite conclusion from similar actions last night) Ronaldo's diving is fully legitimate & never happened.

Welcome to the world of v.a.r.

It was a penalty all day long.

 

[Lovebitesandeveryfing]

Well, I thoroughly enjoyed that. It had eveything: play acting (Ronaldo), dirty play (Costa), and plenty of great, great football by two good teams. Whether Ronaldo’s free kick was justified or not, the way he took it was breathtaking. Render unto Caesar. It kills me, though, the way he simply can’t resist checking himself out sneakily on the big screen when he’s done something good. I piss myself laughing. It reminds me of nothing so much as David Brent sneaking anxious glances at the camera as he pontificates.
Merlin, I take it, was subbed because he’s not the age he once was, and he’s got a long and intense tournament in front of him. I thought it changed Spain’s game, but I found it understandable. Bernardo was very quiet, I thought.

 

[Blue Pete]

Ronaldo has been a great player.

But why exactly is he being hailed for this match. He scored a pen (after his own dive), a goalkeeping error (I wonder if De Gea has concussion), and a free kick (his first in 45 attempts in a tournament).

 

[nellyonthewing]

I know we hate him but that free kick wow. That was a stunning combination of skill, desire and pure intensity to score. Great sportsmen all possess that ability to overcome and make the impossible happen.

 

[BlueAnorak]

It was a penalty all day long.

This.
If you were to say a City player wouldn't get such a penalty the the answer is probably that they wouldn't. It doesn't mean it wasn't a penalty though.

 

[Cellarite]

Ronaldo has been a great player.

But why exactly is he being hailed for this match. He scored a pen (after his own dive), a goalkeeping error (I wonder if De Gea has concussion), and a free kick (his first in 45 attempts in a tournament).

He score a hat trick against Spain in a World Cup. You can’t mark his performance on the night down because he missed 43 free kicks at previous tournaments.