Monday, July 9, 2018

Smiling

There has been a lot of soccer going on due to the World Cup. And it has been fun for the most part. The one thing that I don't care for too much is the VAR. While I agree that it adds fairness to the game, it is also ripe for misapplication. For instance, the Spain-Russia match had an instance towards the end of the match where one of the Russian players was grabbing the Spaniard while there was a cross heading into the box. They decided not to review when to me it looked like a clear PK.

Evidently, there is a system of criteria that we are not fully aware of. I suspect that the VAR is being used if no one saw the incident. But if the booth believes that the center, ARs or the 4th got a good look and communicated about it and still decided to not call, then they won't push for a review. At least that it what it looks like. Still not sure I like it.

As for the only real thing that I can say is new in the soccer world at the World Cup that is something I would like to call out is all the smiling that the center referees are showing. They make a call, and for the most part, they smile. It either conveys one of two things, I saw what you did there and let's be smart about it because I am on to you or to say that they have no idea what you are saying. Either way, it looks good. The optics of it from far away convey knowledge and is probably something I will add to my repertoire.

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