DISQUS

While the red card was necessary I have become reconciled to the idea that a 3-game ban is sufficient.

One incredibly unlucky part of this story is that Taylor is apparently the opposite of the storied 'hard man' of english football. Check out his press clippings-- Graeme Souness lamented six years ago that he was too nice to make it to the top level; said he was the perfect son-in-law but that wasn't what he wanted on his team! His nickname is 'the gentle giant.' Who knows-- his manager may have told him to stick his foot in against Arsenal if wanted to keep his place in the starting lineup-- we'll never know. But he does seem the last guy in the league to set out to purposely clatter Eduardo.

The reality is everywhere he goes the rest of his life the whisper will follow him-- he'll always be the guy who destroyed Eduardo's career. They'll be talking behind his back in the pub when he's seventy-five and sitting there finishing a pint. That will be punishment enough.

This injury to a beautiful young player is heartbreaking. Eduardo is finished at the top level; a striker cannot come back from such a shattering injury.

For those who are interested let me give you one referee's opinion (career 800+ matches). If you come in high, studs up, with your weight in the tackle and catch a player above the ankle then I am sending you off. Dean was in great position; got a good look and made the right call. There was, I would guess, never any doubt in his mind. I will never accept such tackles because they can lead to career ending injuries, as we now have abundant proof.

I doubt Taylor meant to ruin him. He just meant to stop him, foul or fair. A player of mediocre talent at most, he will become known mainly for destroying the career of a far superior footballer. That may be, after his match or season ban, punishment enough.

This injury to a beautiful young player is heartbreaking. Eduardo is finished at the top level; a striker cannot come back from such a shattering injury.

For those who are interested let me give you one referee's opinion (career 800+ matches). If you come in high, studs up, with your weight in the tackle and catch a player above the ankle then I am sending you off. Dean was in great position; got a good look and made the right call. There was, I would guess, never any doubt in his mind. I will never accept such tackles because they can lead to career ending injuries, as we now have abundant proof.

I doubt Taylor meant to ruin him. He just meant to stop him, foul or fair. A player of mediocre talent at most, he will become known mainly for destroying the career of a far superior footballer. That may be, after his match or season ban, punishment enough.

Well I am a huge gunners supporter, but must admit that Walcott is clearly offside on the buildup to second goal. The AR is in position and why he doesn't flag it is totally beyond me.

Hard to see Rooney's shirt pull from this angle. Assuming he has grabbed his shirt, this camera angle reveals a dive by the Russian-- he felt the shirt grab, saw the penalty area, decided to make the most of it. But referee's angle probably looked quite different. Plus he has to make a decision in a split second instead of looking at five replays as I have.

Well, enough said about the referee's shocking work. It's not whining; it's knowledgeable people who feel the game deserves better at that level.

Certainly Brazil looked amazing and on the day deserved to win. It could be debated forever, but I thought the goalkeeper change unnerved the defense, and ultimately the team, especially since Scurry seemed nervous and uncertain in the early stages. Bad decision in retrospect. Hope's ungracious remarks after the match pay her no compliment, and make one wonder if this team had the togetherness and spirit needed to go through. Can you imagine Lehmann trashing Almunia in public after an Arsenal loss? First rule after a loss-- don't throw a teammate under the bus.

Second yellow on Boxx a completely unfathomable decision. A yellow like that is completely a judgment call-- not mandatory. You know when you are giving a second yellow so early in a match that you virtually decide the outcome, especially with Brazil already up 1-0. So that second yellow has to be sellable-- there has to be no doubt in your mind or anyone else's. If there's doubt-- it could be, it could not be-- then it's simple, you don't give it. Give a foul plus buttchewing, sure. But don't ruin the match. That's so fundamental. Just another example of extremely poor refereeing by women-- sorry but there it is. They don't get to work topflight professional football, so they're not ready for the big show when it comes.

You are absolutely right about Cole's tackle on Evra. A clear penalty. It made me think about positioning; Dean was relatively close to play but he was 'straight-lined' as he was directly trailing the players. If he had the pace to swing wide or even swing in he would have seen through play at an angle and would have picked up the penalty we saw with a better camera angle.

As for Cole's tackle on Ronaldo. Look closely. Cole catches Ronaldo not in the heel or the achilles but on the laces of his trailing foot. You're certainly spot on to say he's late and has no chance-- therefore a yellow as Dean had it.

Good points on both incidents though. Cole lucky not to go off with second yellow as the uncalled penalty might well have merited yellow for tactical foul.

Tough game for Mike Dean, but a good example of how difficult it is to get everything right at the speed of premiership play.

The sending-off not justified; Mikel in possession when tackled from front by defender-- yes he raises his foot but could easily have been just in effort to stop-- yellow at most if you think he used his studs deliberately. The penalty a mistake-- very clever dive at pace from Saha who should be sanctioned by FA for it.

As for Cole's tackle-- good decision, his foot slides ahead of player in possession-- yellow card exactly right. The Rooney shoove-- another good decision, you don't send a man off for something so slight, you have a good talk with him, just as Dean did.

On balance two decisions Dean would likely change if he could see incidents repeatedly on slow mo-- but we don't get to do that.