# Brasil 2014 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [May 6, 2014, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840 "2014-05-06T21:19:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 83
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1641 "2014-06-26T01:39:39Z")
But it wasn’t a challenge! He had his weight against the ball and skipped forward. Essentially ending a game on that basis seems really harsh to me. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1642 "2014-06-26T01:47:54Z")
Calling it an “over the top assault” is just ridiculous. Valencia does, however, jump up, directing his studs in the direction of Digne’s shin. That’s stupid, and dangerous. Those guys are moving at some speed. In this case, no one was injured, but you can really mess someone’s day up by doing that. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1643 "2014-06-26T01:58:27Z")
I didn’t see him jump. He leads with his studs but when you slide under someone’s foot you’re asking for it. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1644 "2014-06-26T02:05:29Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > [Here’s a video](http://www.espnfc.com/video/latest-videos/600/video/1912988?&ex_cid=espnapi_affiliate_Google_World_Cup_Video) of highlights which include the red card. > > At 34" in the video, Valencia has the ball, and kicks it forward. > Digne slides to knock the ball out of bounds, and gets there _before_ Valencia. > Valencia then blasts into Digne, right foot _studs up_ straight into Digne’s leg, raking over his knee and shins. This is quite clear at 45" in the video. > Automatic red card. No one from Ecuador protests, because everyone knew what it would be. > It was all really rather straightforward. It looks like a clean tackle to me with the expected contact from knocking someone’s feet out from under them. Where’s his leg suppose to go? The person tackling is wearing shin guards. There shouldn’t have been any call. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1645 "2014-06-26T02:21:34Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > It looks like a clean tackle to me with the expected contact from knocking someone’s feet out from under them. Where’s his leg suppose to go? You need to look at the situation from a second or two earlier that you’re doing. Things happen fast, but Valencia doesn’t suddenly find himself with his feet taken away from under him. He has time to see Digne, and decide wether to go for the challenge. When he sees Digne going for the ball, and realizes that Digne will get to it first, he needs to get out of there, not go for the challenge studs first, even if he is going for the ball. If everyone went gung-ho into that kind of situation, we’d be picking up busted shins bones and knee caps from the pitch by the bucketload. It’s reckless. Not saying it’s necessarily a direct red card, and it’s not the worst foul ever, but it’s not pretty either. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1646 "2014-06-26T02:36:54Z")
[Wall Street Journal](http://online.wsj.com/articles/the-world-rankings-of-flopping-1403660175) is keeping track of Flops and Writhing Time. Through the first 32 games Brazil is leading in “Flops” and Honduras is leading in “Writhing Time” Bosnia and Herzegovina has two flops and only 24 seconds of writhing time. Of the 9 players carried off by stretcher, 5 of them were healed by [Ernest Angley](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Angley), and were back in the game within 90 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1647 "2014-06-26T02:47:04Z")
According to Nigeria’s coach, Babatunde did indeed break his hand or arm on that play and is undergoing surgery. Before today I wouldn’t have thought it possible to snap a bone with a soccer ball. (Sorry, Novelty Bobble!) It would make me a lot more leery of being in the wall. If that’s what a powerfully struck ball can do to your arm, what can it do to your face? Forget the vanishing spray mark, I’d be inching in the other direction. ---
**Author:** ![sideshowkar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5e9695/32.png) [@sideshowkar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sideshowkar)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1648 "2014-06-26T03:05:37Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > Anecdote alert. > > Playing in goal for a 7-a-side game I had a ball booted at me full pelt from 5 yards away. I stopped it with the heel of my hand and it dropped dead at my feet. All the energy travelled up my arm and I gave a little girly yelp. > It hurt like hell but I played on outfield for another hour until I realised I was hallucinating and about to faint. > My wife took me hospital (whilst rolling her eyes and muttering about being “too old” for such things) and I found I’d clean broken both radius and ulna near the wrist joint and had two months in a cast. > > So yes, it can happen I had a similar thing happen playing a full sided game in goal. A guy had just absolutely drilled a shot that when past the goal. I told one of my defenders that I wasn’t even going to attempt to stop a shot coming at me like that (co-ed Sunday rec league, no scores or standings kept, so no big deal). He was one of our other keepers and said, “Yeah, I wouldn’t either.” About 2 minutes later, same guy from about 20 feet away, ball coming in from my right and heading to the top left corner. Left arm goes up reflexively, ball catches me on my fingers and upper palm, nowhere near my wrist. But it felt like my wrist exploded. I don’t know if I yelped like a girl - might have, which would have been apt since I am one - I just remember going behind the goal trying to rip my glove off while the play went on (made the save!). I thought I had just hyper-extended it or maybe there was something up with the tendons. Dr. comes in after the x-rays - "Yeah, it’s broken. Me - “Seriously?” Dr. - “Oh, yeah. It’s in tiny little pieces.” The explosion I felt was my radius shattering. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1649 "2014-06-26T03:06:43Z")
> [@Erdosain](#): > > According to Nigeria’s coach, Babatunde did indeed break his hand or arm on that play and is undergoing surgery. Before today I wouldn’t have thought it possible to snap a bone with a soccer ball. (Sorry, Novelty Bobble!) > > It would make me a lot more leery of being in the wall. If that’s what a powerfully struck ball can do to your arm, what can it do to your face? Forget the vanishing spray mark, I’d be inching in the other direction. I can’t remember who it was, but an England player went down once in a WC from a wall ball to the head. He finally got up and wobbled about and they had to quickly sub him. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1650 "2014-06-26T03:08:58Z")
According to scientists, footballers have a greater chance of being bitten by Suarez than an actual shark. [http://www.news.com.au/sport/football/more-chance-of-being-bitten-by-world-cup-star-luis-suarez-than-a-shark/story-fnkjl6g2-1226967155076](http://www.news.com.au/sport/football/more-chance-of-being-bitten-by-world-cup-star-luis-suarez-than-a-shark/story-fnkjl6g2-1226967155076) In other news, Cristiano Ronaldo won’t get tattoos because he’s a blood and bone marrow donor. Cool. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1651 "2014-06-26T03:11:08Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > [Wall Street Journal](http://online.wsj.com/articles/the-world-rankings-of-flopping-1403660175) is keeping track of Flops and Writhing Time. Interesting. Their criteria seem a bit harsh, though. > [@](#): > > There were nine injuries in total that forced players to be substituted from the game and to miss, or potentially miss, a match. These were discarded. That left 293 cases of potential embellishment that collectively took up 118 minutes, 21 seconds. You don’t have to be substituted or miss a match for an injury to be genuine, or “writhing time” to be justified. Sometimes a player really does take a blow and is down for a while, and later returns to play, without any fakery being involved. Even returning after being stretchered off doesn’t necessarily make you a cheater. Sometimes the ref simply wants the player off the field quickly to allow play to resume. For an extreme example: Uruguay’s Alvaro Pereira [took a knee to the head in the match against England, and was knocked unconscious.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ED6jDdNooA) The team called for a stretcher, but Pereira got back up and refused to be subbed, very much against the team doctors’ advice, even though he was still groggy. I’d say that makes him a bad-ass, not a fraud. (It also means that he stayed on the field with a potential head injury, with is hardly safe, so not a great decision by the Uruguay staff there. But anyway…) Not saying the flopping and histrionics isn’t a real problem, though, it obviously is. However, assessing the scope of the problem is not as simple as counting minutes spent horizontally. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1652 "2014-06-26T03:33:48Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > You need to look at the situation from a second or two earlier that you’re doing. Things happen fast, but Valencia doesn’t suddenly find himself with his feet taken away from under him. He has time to see Digne, and decide wether to go for the challenge. When he sees Digne going for the ball, and realizes that Digne will get to it first, he needs to get out of there, not go for the challenge studs first, even if he is going for the ball. If everyone went gung-ho into that kind of situation, we’d be picking up busted shins bones and knee caps from the pitch by the bucketload. It’s reckless. > > Not saying it’s necessarily a direct red card, and it’s not the worst foul ever, but it’s not pretty either. Maybe I’m not watching a good angle or something but that was a clean tackle and expected contact when I played. Maybe the rules are different but if a player had a toe on the ball a slide tackle was legal. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1653 "2014-06-26T04:03:23Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > […] a slide tackle was legal. Huh? Digne’s slide tackle is fine. Valencia was the one who got the red card. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1654 "2014-06-26T04:10:38Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > Huh? Digne’s slide tackle is fine. Valencia was the one who got the red card. yes but when you slide tackle someone you make the kind of contact seen in the video. This is why they wear shin guards. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1655 "2014-06-26T04:41:14Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Maybe I’m not watching a good angle or something but that was a clean tackle and expected contact when I played. Maybe the rules are different but if a player had a toe on the ball a slide tackle was legal. Jesus, we’re not talking about Burger Flippers’ Sunday League. Read the goddamn rules, because it’s clear from your “analysis” of this incident that you have no idea of what they say. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1656 "2014-06-26T05:00:40Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Jesus, we’re not talking about Burger Flippers’ Sunday League. Read the goddamn rules, because it’s clear from your “analysis” of this incident that you have no idea of what they say. Well I played in college so by all means teach me how the game is played. The tackle was legal and the other player has his legs knocked out from under him. I don’t see a problem with the contact made. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1657 "2014-06-26T07:20:26Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > :eek: > Oh, the ball dropped dead at your feet. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1658 "2014-06-26T07:24:39Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > [Here’s a video](http://www.espnfc.com/video/latest-videos/600/video/1912988?&ex_cid=espnapi_affiliate_Google_World_Cup_Video) of highlights which include the red card. > > At 34" in the video, Valencia has the ball, and kicks it forward. > Digne slides to knock the ball out of bounds, and gets there _before_ Valencia. > Valencia then blasts into Digne, right foot _studs up_ straight into Digne’s leg, raking over his knee and shins. This is quite clear at 45" in the video. > Automatic red card. No one from Ecuador protests, because everyone knew what it would be. > It was all really rather straightforward. exactly, and _both_ feet leave the ground, an absolute no-no ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1659 "2014-06-26T08:28:51Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > yes but when you slide tackle someone you make the kind of contact seen in the video. This is why they wear shin guards. I’m sorry but do you watch much football normally? Studs up and going over the ball has been an automatic red card for years now. I also think you over-estimate the effectiveness of shin guards. Read [this](http://thesportsarchivesblog.com/2013/01/29/the-sports-archives-nine-terrible-football-soccer-tackles-that-ended-careers/) and note how often “studs” up appears in the text. This is why the rules come down on studs up like a tonne of bricks. It used to be that “as long as you got the ball” you were fine, but that hasn’t been true now for about two decades. BTW, in that link number 5, David Busst, played for the team I support. Rather than being a bad tackle it was more an accident, but the pictures from it are horrific and are a stark reminder of what can happen in football and why we have these rules: [http://www.uwaga.pl/uploads/content/foto/parsed\_96b4d2a94269bdd88b10de7bb8cc57c4b6db4ac9.jpg](http://www.uwaga.pl/uploads/content/foto/parsed_96b4d2a94269bdd88b10de7bb8cc57c4b6db4ac9.jpg) [![](http://cdn.ebaumsworld.com/mediaFiles/picture/584714/890799.png) ](http://cdn.ebaumsworld.com/mediaFiles/picture/584714/890799.png) ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840/1660 "2014-06-26T09:01:33Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > exactly, and _both_ feet leave the ground, an absolute no-no Just to clarify on this point. It is considered dangerous to leave the ground in this way as you then lose all ability to control what you are doing. Even if no harm comes from end tackle and you cleanly get the ball you can be penalised harshly for jumping in like this. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840.md?page=82) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brasil-2014/687840.md?page=84)