Would appreciate getting people's thoughts on some of the more controversial calls yesterday. I don't think the referee had a good day at all, but mostly the calls seemed to even out. I mention five that I'd love to get people's thoughts on, but would enjoy hearing about others.
I don't intend for this to be a bitch fest, but a balanced discussion of the rules and how to apply them.
1. Offsides on First Chicago Goal. Cocis (the goalscorer) certainly wasn't offside. Gilberto certainly was. Gilberto didn't cut off his run and continued into the box, which caused both Saunders and Brillant to avoid directly challenging Cocis. I don't think that's enough under the rule to constitute "interfering with play" - but perhaps it should be.
2. First Potential Penalty. This is the one where the NYCFC player (Brillant?) pulls the jersey of the Chicago player in the box(Accam). I thought this was a clear penalty as it kept Accam from keeping up with the ball, which rolled up to Saunders - might even have been a red card. We dodged a bullet.
3. Second Potential Penalty. This is the one where an NYCFC defender made contact with a Chicago player on the breakaway, with the Chicago player going down in the box. I thought this was a foul, but not a penalty, as the contact began outside the box.
4. Taylor Goal. I thought this should have been a penalty on Chicago. The ball hit off two Chicago players' hands, neither of which was anywhere near their bodies. Fortunately, Taylor's quick thinking rendered the question moot.
5. Shelton Penalty. This should not have been a penalty, although it's hard to argue after we got the benefit of the call mentioned in #2 above. Shelton had his arm near his body and was bringing it behind his back when struck by the ball. The ball actually seems to glance first off his side. No intent, and he wasn't making himself big. No penalty.
I don't intend for this to be a bitch fest, but a balanced discussion of the rules and how to apply them.
1. Offsides on First Chicago Goal. Cocis (the goalscorer) certainly wasn't offside. Gilberto certainly was. Gilberto didn't cut off his run and continued into the box, which caused both Saunders and Brillant to avoid directly challenging Cocis. I don't think that's enough under the rule to constitute "interfering with play" - but perhaps it should be.
2. First Potential Penalty. This is the one where the NYCFC player (Brillant?) pulls the jersey of the Chicago player in the box(Accam). I thought this was a clear penalty as it kept Accam from keeping up with the ball, which rolled up to Saunders - might even have been a red card. We dodged a bullet.
3. Second Potential Penalty. This is the one where an NYCFC defender made contact with a Chicago player on the breakaway, with the Chicago player going down in the box. I thought this was a foul, but not a penalty, as the contact began outside the box.
4. Taylor Goal. I thought this should have been a penalty on Chicago. The ball hit off two Chicago players' hands, neither of which was anywhere near their bodies. Fortunately, Taylor's quick thinking rendered the question moot.
5. Shelton Penalty. This should not have been a penalty, although it's hard to argue after we got the benefit of the call mentioned in #2 above. Shelton had his arm near his body and was bringing it behind his back when struck by the ball. The ball actually seems to glance first off his side. No intent, and he wasn't making himself big. No penalty.
