Moondance said:
Why are you making this personal? I dont know whether pictures but his arm was clearly away from his body. It doesn't matter whether the lower part of the arm was down. It hit his arm, which was not down, and blocked the ball from entering the goal. That is always red.
I've made my points. No professional ref who sees what the world saw would do otherwise.
I was being sarcastic with the lawyer bit. His lower arm was away from his body, but it was already there when the ball shot, it moved slightly. I was only trying to cover all bases. I think there is a case for both perspectives. Hence I said yellow card because it hit the upper part of his arm. For a deliberate handball, why didn't it touch the moving part of his arm. I thought as you are studying law, you might see the point in questioning. Law is about interpretation...there were too many unknowns for me to agree with the decision. It wouldn't matter if an Italian did the same thing, I'd consider it harsh. Lets hope a similar incident doesn't occur this WC, because it could make the Italian ref's decision look bad. Which sadly, is what this WC will be about. Referee decisions.
How are Aussies taking this? Wait till the majority wake up. They'll be ****ed. Worse the ref is Italian. Hint, don't come down under any time soon and advertise that fact. You'll risk copping a hiding. I've already seen the major football website commentary and the fans are not happy. Few agree with you. Most say yellow card because it wasn't unnatural. Yes, they mentioned the rules. As I said...interpretation and you are deadset wrong about all referees. You cannot speak for them and given they are an inconsistent group only solidifies my point. Not every ref would have given a card, but this one did. As I said, it's too late now, but he should answer questions. I'm off, I've got better things to do than debate technicalities. I hope Ghana get thrashed next game and another African country misses the top 16. Sending the WC to SA is a joke in itself. Put bums on seats or don't apply. Simple. Looks bad. Almost worse than the Beijing Olympics.