No worries mate - it’s one of the unfortunate things in football that needs addressing - the protection of players from thuggish or over-the-top antics. Usually it’s the attacking/creative-types that suffer - and referees seem unsure in certain instances just what has happened (or unwilling to risk enforcing the rules for fear of a mistake which may impinge on their career / likeliness of getting the ‘big’ games in the future).
If this is the case, at the top level there is usually enough footage of any incident to go back and address these issues post-game - by FIFA, UEFA or whoever the governing body of the competition is. Yet the will is seemingly not there to do so.
The same for the diving / simulation aspects - which can be tricky to get right. Because a player jumps out of the way of a two-footed high challenge doesn’t mean he’s dived - though if he’s rolling around pretending he has been hit when he hasn’t… then that needs addressing too.
I think most fans would like to see both issues addressed - no-one wants to see cheats prosper, and for me it has no place in football. Personally, I’d prefer if the players respected the officials a bit more too - like they do in rugby - and also in rugby where the officials are micced up to the stadium tannoy system and their decisions are explained - to the benefit of the players, fans at the ground, and those watching on tv etc.
Last night I thought the ref was poor - he should have brought the two captains together and told them to inform their teammates to pack the stupid antics in early on. The ref has officials to help him out - yet seemingly ignored them / their input. How you don’t get a red card for headbutting someone - after a VAR review - is beyond me - and sends out a wrong message to everyone watching, and those young players out playing… emulating what they see on the pitch.
I really hope we don’t see similar antics in latter games in the tournament - it’s been a quality World Cup so far - great goals and games, big teams and players going out early, the ‘smaller’ sides doing well too - I hope we see more of the actual football being played 😃
Roll on Friday 😃