r/SpicyFootballTakes

The ref against Paraguay, the inconsistencies in amounts of extra time and when the games are called, the way Messi/argentina has been protected and the fact that trump was allowed to reverse a correct decision is just what comes to mind to show the level of corruption this World Cup.

That’s not even mentioning mr “neutral” infantino talking about how he was nervous Argentina would lose and was soooo happy they won. Truly this is a cooked World Cup to levels we have never seen before.

Whilst I love some of the games I just think so many of the decisions including now this Balogun one are just incredibly suspect

I know rules are rules. Senegal left the pitch, therefore they avoid to play, therefore they technically give up. The referee should have blown the whistle at this exact moment. But he didn't and Senegal continued to play.

Senegal won the game. Senegal is AFCON champion.

When did games ever got their outcome changed afterwards? Cucurellas handball against Germany was officially seen as handball like three months afterwards. No actions. Messi's foul against Algeria was seen as a red card amongst experts. No actions afterwards. Maradona has never received a penalty for his hand of god. I could go on and on.

Most people aren't truly fans of the sport. As much as people love to talk about American sports being commercialized, most people only watch the two most commercialized leagues in the world out of thousands. EPL or La Liga in combination with the UCL. You can't play the "most popular sport in the world" or "the beautiful game" gimmick if you don't watch or don't believe that there are thousands of other leagues playing the beautiful game.

You people don't even consider Ligue 1 to be a worthy league.

Ask yourself. Are you an actual fan of the sport, or were you just born in a certain region?

Let's talk games. Bayern vs PSG. The match that was universally loved and played to what people truly want to see in a football match. But if I was to say the two top teams in the Latvia league are having that exact match, you'd still rather watch the Wolves/Burnley or Mallorca/Getafe play to a 0-0 draw. What gives? The Bundesliga.2 have high scoring matches every week. Do you watch.

I know, tv packages and what not. But if there was an actual demand, they'd put it on TV. I can say how I'm watching these leagues. Because I do.

Most fans see watching football as a chore. Too many WC teams, too many UCL matches, too many "I have to watch these two teams play? They shouldn't even be here", and way too much not watching football in the main leagues' off-season.

How can you call something the beautiful game when you only believe maybe 200 out of millions can make it happen?

I mean Salah had a hamstring injury as well and played for Egypt

And nobody expected him to play 90 minutes

If Messi or Ronaldo was 70% fit they would probably still play.

I feel like I just always have the best football takes. Everyone else here and everywhere have rubbish takes compared to me. If there was an award for having the most ball knowledge I would def be winning it.

I was happy when Germany lost but even then the referees refusing to protect musiala from their players blatantly trying to injure him I thought it was fucked.

The refs should be fair and impartial and in this game they are being anything but impartial it’s shameless.

That’s not even mentioning Paraguay playing with 11 players in the box 24/7 and pretending they have been shot whenever they fall over.

Truly Arteta’s closest disciples these guys

Seriously, Messi is the only reason that this team has won anything, and the reason why people look past their shady actions. A good majority of argentina fans are racist, and so are the players. Also, a lot of argentina fans are messi fans.

Messi is literally the only likeable thing about argentina right now.

Everyone's talking about the 20 goals, the 8 straight games with a goal, the 7 in this tournament. All crazy stats but the thing that's actually fascinating to me?At 39 years old, he's doing stuff he never did before.
Commentators are pointing out that he's actually leading the press sometimes getting back to win the ball in a way that wasn't really his game before. He's not sprinting like a madman, but he's reading the game and making those movements .The goal against Cape Verde? 29th minute, times his run perfectly off a long pass, controls it with one touch, chips the keeper. Classic Messi but the rest of the game? he was dropping deep, organizing attacks, even putting in defensive work when needed .It's like winning the 2022 World Cup gave him permission to just play no pressure, no "will he ever win one." Just a 39 yr old dude enjoying football and breaking every record along the way.What do you think is this Messi's most impressive tournament because of how he's adapted his game, or is it just the numbers that make it special?

Barcelona 2008-2012 wouldn't work if it wasn't for Xavi who was brain of team. And he was consistent + great in big matches. I rate him higher than Iniesta, who was also incredible player.

Very simple and straightforward idea.

Many top players transition into coaches, pundits or other roles in Football, but never referee.

Imagine Thierry Henry refereeing the Worldcup Finals. Wouldn't it be awesome? Do you think players would contest every decision as much as they do now?

Who would you like to see as a referee?

EDIT: Bonus question: Who would be the worst ref?

Teams spend so much time trying to control possession that far fewer games become chaotic. The quality has increased, but the entertainment value has dropped. I think football 10+ years ago was more enjoyable to watch than today's highly structured game.

This is in response to a number of threads and comments ive seen saying this exact thing like it's a known fact.

But here's my pitch, football has become far more about tactical knowledge and execution. That is to say we are watching the best footballing minds devise the best football tactics and having the greatest players execute them. Its absolutely mind boggling to me that football 'fans' could be clamouring for a time when route 1 and 442 were considered good tactics.

For example: A vs B. A leads 2-0 in the first half and earns two points for that. In second half B scores 3 goals. They win the second half and get two points for that. On top of that they win the game and get three points for the win. So they get 5 points in total.

I think it's cool

Was actually a load of sh1t. Scored a couple of worldies in unimportant games (and yes I count the group stage against Scotland in the Euros an unimportant game), one decent World Cup run at italia 90 but generally his mouth wrote cheques his playing ability couldn’t match which was illustrated at Lazo…basically a poor mans, pissed up, wife beating northern Matt Le Tissier