That 'tackle' on Saka. To me, should've been a red. I know it's not quite in the rules that way, but you really shouldn't be allowed to do that. A) it was a cynical foul, designed solely to stop a goalscoring opportunity, they were just out wide, and B) a two-handed shirt pull round the throat is bloody dangerous! What do we reckon?
It wasn’t violent conduct. However, he was in a yellow after that, should have had Sterling and Saka run at him every opportunity.
My memory isnt the best. Are you talking about pulling his shirt and nearly choking him? Was talking to a high level referee today who said that was a straight red if the referee wanted to give it. Recklessly endangering an opponent. No different to going in two footed, it isn't necessarily violent conduct but it's a red
Jorginho twice should have seen red. The one on Rice was out of control studs first, then the one on Grealish.
I felt very uncomfortable watching him before the penalty shootout vs Spain in the semi. He was behaving disgracefully with one of the younger Spanish lads. You could tell the lad felt intimidated and anxious, and it just wasn’t good at all.
Really? I think the Spanish lad was just nervous. Chiellini was just joking around. He's just old school. Thought the shirt pull was genius really, never a red. His legs have gone, he's 36. Don't make defenders like him any more.
It wasn't just violent conduct is was a deliberate targeted attack on a player they couldn't deal with. The way he stayed down and all his teammates immediately ran in to claim Grealish was the one committing the foul was clearly orchestrated. A classic tactic in Italian football
I thought under the current rules, it was a struggle to call it as a red. Should such an act be a red card though? Absolutely- it’s cynical cheating the foul on Grealish under the current rules was a definite red I thought the referee was very poor and allowed the Italians to get away with a lot
The trouble with “just old school” is that it excuses a lot of **** that we should just not put up with anymore. Whether shirt-pulls like that are a red card in the rules of the game or not, the manner in which it was done - no subtlety, no attempt to do it without being noticed - just shows contempt for the concept of fair play. I honestly think it’s time for football to learn from rugby. Right now, once you’re in the final a yellow card has little consequence and they are effectively a one-shot “get away with murder” card and Italy spent theirs tactically. 10 minutes in the sin-bin for a yellow card would really make far more consequential. I think I read somewhere it would have seen Italy reduced to 10 men for over 40 minutes of the game, and 9 men for a period of time. England would have been a man down for just 10 minutes. And I’m not whinging about the result, I’m over that, but cynical fouls need punishing far more than they currently are.
Fair bit of old school from England throughout the tournament. Going down with the merest contact Kane, Sterling Grealish pre final. Ref didn`t buy em in final on one occasion Kane was fouled and didn`t get it, but thats the way the cookie crumbles when you use that in your game. Italians the same all through tournament with that Jorginho a proper despicable ------- (fill in the blank).
I think the comment that Chiellini acted 'disgracefully' towards the Spanish player was over the top, if anything he was trying to have a laugh and calm the nerves, for his own team and arguably for the Spanish player, as if to say 'it's only a game after all'; characters in football are now few and far between, Chiellini shows the human side.. In terms of the foul, it was a shirt pull, something that's been going on since football began. I would rather players fouled in plain sight than all manner of sh1thousery that we see now - feigning a foul/injury, surrounding the ref to get a player sent off etc etc. Many commentators now wrongfully praise a player for 'winning' a foul. Someone suggested the shirt pull could have resulted in asphyxiation, which is an incredible comment, so over the top it doesn't warrant a reply. I think 10 minutes in the sinbin would have been very harsh, he pulled his shirt and the foul was given. The real cheats are the ones that slyly try and get away with it, that is true contempt for the game and for the fans that pay to watch. The goalkeepers that waste a substantial amount of time, running the clock down, rolling around on the floor with the ball, rolling on top of the ball, carrying it to the other side of the 6 yearder to take a goalkick for no reason other than to waste time, kicking their boots against the post; the players that turn the ball over and over in their hands, wiping it against their shirt when there is no spots of rain to wipe, running an extra 15 yards down the touchline when taking a throw in; the players that constantly kick the ball away when play is stopped (when did that stop being an offence?); I would book the lot of them. As I said Chiellini fouled in plain sight, he didn't try and strangle the guy, manslaughter certainly wasn't on the cards, and the overreaction amazes me.
