Postman Pat
Well-known member
Watching Luis Suarez at the weekend against Villa, it occurred to me regardless of if there was contact or not, if he had stayed up what was the best he could have hoped for, he wouldn't have been getting a shot on goal as he was going wide, so would it have deserved a penalty?
Same for some hand-balls, if the ball isn't going towards the goal why do they deserve a 80%+ chance of scoring from the spot, no-one can guarantee that if an attacking player does get on the end of the cross, it will result in a goal.
Should the referee be able to make a "goal-scoring" opportunity call and award a direct free-kick from the spot where the offence occurred in the area rather than giving a penalty?
Would this help reduce diving in the area if the player thought they were not going to get a penalty anyway?
Just a thought.
Same for some hand-balls, if the ball isn't going towards the goal why do they deserve a 80%+ chance of scoring from the spot, no-one can guarantee that if an attacking player does get on the end of the cross, it will result in a goal.
Should the referee be able to make a "goal-scoring" opportunity call and award a direct free-kick from the spot where the offence occurred in the area rather than giving a penalty?
Would this help reduce diving in the area if the player thought they were not going to get a penalty anyway?
Just a thought.