Champions league & Europa leagues 2025-26

[Durhamfootman]

Poor old Alex.... still can't run in a straight line, touch the ball, or stay on the pitch for more than 45 mins

so sad

[Durhamfootman]

Arsenal v Athletico
PSG v Bayern

andy's prediction of Arsenal v Bayern is still on

[andy]

Anyone watch the games last night? Couldn't have been a bigger difference between the two games! Liquid football in one and a bore drab draw in the other

[mikesiva]

Arsenal 0-0 (1-0) Sporting Lisbon
Bayern Munich 4-3 (6-4) Real Madrid

Unfortunately, I watched the Arsenal game.

[sussexpob]

Both legs of the Bayern v Real Madrid match were great. Real Madrid were clearly upset with the late red card, I have some sympathy because that sort of thing happens 20 times a game and the referee does nothing.

[Durhamfootman]

As always in these 'worst decision ever made in the history of the world' incidents, I ask myself how upset Madrid would have been if the decision had been given against a Bayern player. I'm going to guess and say they'd probably think it was a fair decision

I haven't seen it myself, so I may be talking out of my hat

[sussexpob]

As always in these 'worst decision ever made in the history of the world' incidents, I ask myself how upset Madrid would have been if the decision had been given against a Bayern player. I'm going to guess and say they'd probably think it was a fair decision. I haven't seen it myself, so I may be talking out of my hat

It might sound crazy, but I dont think judging the final decision is important. Bayern fans will no doubt argue that its technically a yellow card, but I don't think that makes it right or fair - if a referee goes 86 minutes letting every similar incident like that go unpunished, and then suddenly becomes incredibly pedantic about it out of nowhere, thats bad refereeing, and I think Real have a right to point that out and feel a level of injustice about it.

Consistency is the most important thing about refereeing. If he booked the first player to do it after 5 minutes, and continually booked everyone, fine. If he booked no one for it, fine. But you do have to ask why at that very moment, and with the passage of 50 incidents like that in the game, he choose that moment to card him.

[Durhamfootman]

no... doesn't sound crazy at all

but half of our footie posts seem to be about a lack of consistency in decisions. The game is riddled with it. If the standard of refereeing is poor, at best, it's perhaps also true that it is no worse than it has ever been before. Maybe the difference is just that modern technology has improved to the extent that poor decisions are highlighted much more effectively than they used to be

I'm rambling.... ignore me

if a Bayern player had been sent off late on for kicking the ball away, the same Madrid players who were outraged by the actual decision, would be delighted right now

but I haven't seen it, so I'm really commenting on human nature rather than the event or the sequence of events leading up to it

[sussexpob]

but half of our footie posts seem to be about a lack of consistency in decisions. The game is riddled with it. If the standard of refereeing is poor, at best, it's perhaps also true that it is no worse than it has ever been before. Maybe the difference is just that modern technology has improved to the extent that poor decisions are highlighted much more effectively than they used to be

I just don't see why its that hard, and it opens up the narrative to potential foul play. Its what instantly springs to mind when these things happen; the question of why the sudden change of opinion or approach.

A lot of it is communication as well. I remember playing rugby years ago, referees would tell you how they wanted the game played. You were told before kick off "scrum-half, I want that ball out as soon as its presented to you". We didn't argue about it or say I have 5 seconds, you got the ball out. Other's went the other way but it was pre-defined, they told you how the game would be referred and virtually all of the time it went as promised..

Communication is important. I don't get the sense referees are communicating nor players listening

[Durhamfootman]

Well, it shouldn't be that hard, should it?

There was a period in football when players would surround and jostle referees. It was all pretty shameful and if I had to make a guess I'd suggest that this perhaps helped undermine the player/ref relationship, if indeed it needed further undermining. You're right, I think, the refs don't talk and the players don't listen and the whole fabric of football is reliant upon a level of mutual respect that simply isn't there

When footballers earn staggering amounts of money and refs don't, it's hard to see what incentive there is for players, particularly young players, to respect the authority of referees. This is further exacerbated by a football administration that is inherently weak at its core. When they tried to introduce the rugby 10m rule into football to try and cut all that crap out, the first time a ref picked the ball up and moved it 10 yards forward for a free kick, the whole world erupted in a media fuelled outrage bus extravaganza and the rest of the refereeing fraternity thought "sod that" and made damned sure that none of that vitriol was sprayed their way. The policy very quickly died, because the refs were basically hung out to dry by the football authorities, who pretty much kept their own heads down because they didn't want all that flack either

I still remember with great fondness the moment that Klopp, in trying to chase down a referee who'd awarded a decision he didn't like, so that he could launch into a tirade of abuse.... tore a hamstring in the process and had to be helped off. If managers do that sort of stuff, why wouldn't their players? It's a side to football that I've always hated

And to top it all off, one of the few referees who did seem to earn the respect of players, managers, media and all, now wants to have World cup games endlessly stopped while every corner is checked to see if the decision was correct.... and they accuse players of time wasting! You couldn't *modded* make it up really

[Durhamfootman]

Told you I was rambling

[sussexpob]

I think the game last night was arguably the greatest CL game I have ever seen. The quality of attacking play from both sides was frightful, these two sides are on a total other level to any others in the world at the moment, and it was so refreshing to see both go at each other full throttle in a big game.

The only downside was the absolutely psychotic penalty decision given to PSG. The handball rule is in flames nowadays.

[andy]

It was an unbelievably good game one of the best of all time can't see tonight's game being similar lol expect it to be a snoozefest