Week 8

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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Jul 2, 2006
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That was a really nice job by Ramsdale to make that save at the end of the half. I thought that was in.
Great strike by Gallagher and a good game plan from Palace so far. Arsenal can't deal with Palace's press at all.

Honestly, this should be a red card though. He is nowhere near going for the ball and he just whales on the back of Saka's leg as hard as he can. I don't see how its anything but intent to injure. Unless Saka was literally invisible to him he could not be possibly trying to kick the ball.

View: https://twitter.com/LadsAlex/status/1450186555830718465
 

candylandriots

unkempt
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Mar 30, 2004
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I honestly don't think that there was an intent to injure. As the announcers said, MacArthur seemed to be going for a volley, he just volleyed Saka. Whether that's a red card or not, I'm not sure, but I think it wasn't intentional. I've never seen him play dirty before, over a lot of games...but I'll concede I'm biased here.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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I honestly don't think that there was an intent to injure. As the announcers said, MacArthur seemed to be going for a volley, he just volleyed Saka. Whether that's a red card or not, I'm not sure, but I think it wasn't intentional. I've never seen him play dirty before, over a lot of games...but I'll concede I'm biased here.
It a bizarre one because Saka has already volleyed the ball out at :04 in that clip and McCarthur is winding up to kick his plant leg. If he's going for the volley then somehow he doesn't see that Saka exists at all, but its not like he is looking up at the sky the whole time. He was looking straight at Saka right beforehand.
 

67YAZ

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Dec 1, 2000
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Great work from Palace tonight and really poor from Arsenal. Palace are playing harder and more cohesively and the result as it stands is totally fair.
Ive been so impressed with Viera. I was worried about him as a first time EPL manager with a short resume. But he’s been doing a great job with match plans, bedding in a lot of young players, making in-match adjustments…he’s been awesome.
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
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Jan 10, 2004
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Oh, that's a dagger. Oh, candyland, that's a damned gut-punch.

Palace were up 2-1 with 94:15 showing on the clock and 4' of stoppage time announced, and Arsenal put in the equalizer after some pinball off a corner.
 

SocrManiac

Tommy Seebach’s mustache
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Apr 15, 2006
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It a bizarre one because Saka has already volleyed the ball out at :04 in that clip and McCarthur is winding up to kick his plant leg. If he's going for the volley then somehow he doesn't see that Saka exists at all, but its not like he is looking up at the sky the whole time. He was looking straight at Saka right beforehand.
I cannot wrap my brain around missing that in real-time. To have VAR not step in means VAR is broken beyond repair.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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I cannot wrap my brain around missing that in real-time. To have VAR not step in means VAR is broken beyond repair.
I don't think they even looked at the VAR. Play stopped while Saka was injured for a couple minutes but there was no indication that a VAR review was occurring. I feel like its a case where the ref doesn't look at VAR because he knows if they do he''ll have to give the red card. And for whatever reason he doesn't want to do it.

Arsenal played terribly this match and Palace played very well and were unlucky not to take the points. So I really don't want to make it seem like I'm using this as an excuse because I'm really not trying to do it. But I agree that if they're not using VAR to review this kind of situation (and send the player off in the end), then VAR is pointless as a tool for enforcing this part of the rules. They had all the time in the world, it was a really egregious and dangerous foul that hurt another player, and whether you see it as intent to injure or just extreme recklessness its a red card either way.
 
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the1andonly3003

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Jul 15, 2005
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I don't think they even looked at the VAR. Play stopped while Saka was injured for a couple minutes but there was no indication that a VAR review was occurring. I feel like its a case where the ref doesn't look at VAR because he knows if they do he''ll have to give the red card. And for whatever reason he doesn't want to do it.

Arsenal played terribly this match and Palace played very well and were unlucky not to take the points. So I really don't want to make it seem like I'm using this as an excuse because I'm really not trying to do it. But I agree that if they're not using VAR to review this kind of situation (and send the player off in the end), then VAR is pointless as a tool for enforcing this part of the rules. They had all the time in the world, it was a really egregious and dangerous foul that hurt another player, and whether you see it as intent to injure or just extreme recklessness its a red card either way.
The action before that foul, Saka received a yellow on foul to prevent a Palace rush. MacArthur's foul seemed like revenge for Saka's.
 

lars10

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Jul 31, 2007
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I don't think they even looked at the VAR. Play stopped while Saka was injured for a couple minutes but there was no indication that a VAR review was occurring. I feel like its a case where the ref doesn't look at VAR because he knows if they do he''ll have to give the red card. And for whatever reason he doesn't want to do it.

Arsenal played terribly this match and Palace played very well and were unlucky not to take the points. So I really don't want to make it seem like I'm using this as an excuse because I'm really not trying to do it. But I agree that if they're not using VAR to review this kind of situation (and send the player off in the end), then VAR is pointless as a tool for enforcing this part of the rules. They had all the time in the world, it was a really egregious and dangerous foul that hurt another player, and whether you see it as intent to injure or just extreme recklessness its a red card either way.
All you need to know is mike dean was the head official.. correct? He was awful all day. McArthur could have had two yellows before that but didn’t.. that foul should at least have been a second yellow with a better ref or a straight red. Palace played better but they also committed a number of fouls that weren’t called (in fairness there were a few the other way as well) but I think at least one of the palace goals if not both were directly after fouls that weren’t called. Also palace’s left back had his hands on jerseys or shoulders in the box all night.. there were a few that I think could have been called.. they would have been weak penalties, but there’s no reason as a defender to be pushing or pulling so obviously…especially in the box. Arsenal probably didn’t deserve the tie, but palace shouldn’t have had 11 men on the field by the end either. Mike Dean needs to be retired… he was absolutely atrocious again.
 
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