Tom Lewis

Football, bloody hell!

[Raj Shamani @rajshamani]

The brain does not hate hard work. It hates unclear effort. If it cannot see where the work is going, how long it will last, or why it matters, it starts treating the task like failure instead of a challenge.

[Aya 🦉 @aya__R7]

لحظة إدراك الحقيقة.

[Talmud Enjoyer 🇬🇧 🇮🇱 🧬 @jewndahalfmen]

England is now a Mediterranean country:

We have hot weather, a shit economy, and a good football team.

[Mal @UtdMaI]

When Cape Verde started taking control, every major decision suddenly went Argentina’s way.

When Egypt looked ready to go three goals clear, the referee found a reason to wipe one off.

When Switzerland threatened to complete the turnaround, a Swiss player was conveniently sent off.

You can look away all you want, but the pattern is becoming impossible to ignore. The favouritism is glaring, and the stench of corruption is everywhere.

[sasha na copa @lobotosasha]

HAHAHAHAHA OS CARAS ESTÃO INDO LONGE DEMAIS NOS MEMES

[Underdog @Underdog]

2-match ban No card shown

[Alan MacLeod @AlanRMacLeod]

Absolutely insane how the World Cup hosts are bombing another World Cup participant right now.

And FIFA gave the guy doing it their Peace Prize, lol.

[Mohamed Wehliye, MBS @WehliyeMohamed]

There are 8 countries left in this year's @FIFAWorldCup. No referee should come from any of these 8 countries.

[Mark Valorian @markvalorian]

The VAR system is logically flawed; it dramatically overvalues outlandishly precise technical correctness and undervalues the overall scope of surrounding organic gameplay.

Let’s take the Egypt goal today as an example:

That goal was the result of a complex series of individual wins by Egypt; in order to *earn* it, they had to put a whole sequence of dribbles, runs, passes, and of course the eventual shot together in a way that got past Argentina to score the goal.

It was not a free shot on an open goal; Argentina had ample opportunity to stop the attack throughout the buildup, but failed to do so.

That whole sequence was an organic display of athletic superiority that resulted in a major game-defining outcome on the field of play.

And VAR completely removed its impact from the game…all because of a tiny foul on the entirely opposite end of the field.

The goal of any competitive sport should be to allow the players to decide outcomes on the field of play—to allow all the tiny moments of competition throughout the course of a game to aggregate together into a meritocratic outcome where the better team wins.

To that end, the goal of officiating should be to maximize the impact of organic competition on the outcome of the game, not to catch every microscopic infraction at all costs.

That is where VAR gets it completely wrong; it prioritizes pedantic technical correctness over organic competition.

We saw this in both Egypt and Croatia; outcomes defined predominantly by organic competition are completely erased from history due to this narrow-minded obsession with technical minutiae.

Wiping away a game-changing play defined by 99% organic competition simply because an infraction may have contributed 1% is a grave disservice to the game.

FIFA would be well served to recognize this and recalibrate the way they implement VAR.

[Depressed Lakers Fan @oprahsideclark]

When Argentina played Austria there was a foul in the build up Messi still got the goal and VAR did not rule it out.

But VAR rules the goal out for Egypt. This is corruption by FIFA.

[عمر الشبرم @omar_alshbrm]

فضيحه …

ردة فعل انفنياتو رئيس الفيفا بعد هدف ميسي 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[Vfynn_🥷🏼 𐙚 @Vfynn_]

🚨🗣️New: Mohamed Salah on the controversial officiating decisions in Egypt and Argentina game, Messi and Argentina are being favored:

“People will say Argentina showed the mentality of champions. Fine. But tell me this: when exactly did Egypt get the same protection from the officials?

We scored a second goal. The stadium exploded. The world saw it. Then suddenly VAR became an archaeologist, digging through the ruins of football history to find a foul from another lifetime.

Funny how they could rewind the game Five minutes to cancel our goal, but when I was brought down in the box, everyone suddenly forgot where the replay button was.

That’s what hurts. Not losing. Not Argentina.

The inconsistency.

One decision gets examined under a microscope. Another gets buried under the carpet.

We were told football is decided on the pitch. Tonight it felt like it was decided in a control room.

And let’s talk about those final minutes.

Two penalty appeals. Two moments that could have changed everything. Nothing. No review. No urgency. No explanation.

Then Argentina go down the other end and score the winner.

That isn’t a plot twist. That’s the kind of script that leaves millions of people asking questions.

Egypt fought for every blade of grass. We defended. We believed. We earned our moments.

But every time we climbed the mountain, someone moved the summit.

The disallowed goal.

The ignored penalty shouts.

The cards flying around our bench because people who dedicate their lives to this game couldn’t understand what they were witnessing.

And now we’re expected to smile and say football won?

No.

Football wins when the rules are applied equally.

Football wins when VAR is a shield for fairness, not a sword that appears only when convenient.

Because from where I’m standing, Egypt didn’t just lose 3-2.

Egypt lost a goal, lost two penalty appeals, lost faith in consistency, and eventually lost a place in the quarter-finals.

Maybe Argentina deserved to advance.

Maybe they didn’t.

That’s football.

But what will make people angry isn’t the result.

It’s the feeling that one team was forced to play against eleven men, the clock, and a set of decisions that seemed to change shape whenever the game demanded it.

And that’s why this match will be remembered long after the scoreline is forgotten.”

[Tom Lewis @eltomlewis]

Here's an idea:
All parties boycott.
Nigel v Binface.
All non-reformers vote Binface. Binface wins.

Make it happen Clapton!
#nigelfarage #ByElection #binface #claptonbyelection

[Abu Anas @P0STxd]

لا أتكلم عن رونالدو بالتحديد .. فليس هو موضوعي هنا .. بل مسألة الكبر وصعابه وكيف يكبر الإنسان وما هو الشيء المخيف حقاً في هذا الأمر

المخيف في التقدم في العمر هو تلك اللحظة الصامتة التي تدرك فيها أن العالم بدأ يتحرك أسرع منك بكثير .. وأنك لم تعد قادراً على مجاراته .. القسوة الحقيقية تكمن في أن الخلايا والجسد يشيخان .. بينما الروح والأحلام تظل في ريعان شبابها داخل عقلك فتعيش غريباً في جسدك .. تشتاق لنسخة قديمة من نفسك رحلت ولن تعود أبداً المرعب ليس الموت .. بل أن تعيش لتشهد نهاية زمنك وخروجك من دائرة الأهمية لتصبح مجرد شاهد على حياة كنت يوماً أنت محركها الأساسي

دُنيا زائلة ولا شيء لأجلها يستحق الجهد

[Shane Ryan @ShaneRyanHere]

People will think I'm crazy for this take, but I'm a big believer in the psychological impact of narratives on teams. Yes, Belgium looked so much better tonight and we looked lost. But this team had a boatload of good vibes behind them, and in the last 48 hours that vanished, and replacing it was a story of implicit political corruption that turned them into the bad guys, or at least the beneficiary of the corruption. You can't tell me that doesn't put pressure on the team, change the vibe, and take a psychological toll that impacted what happened on the field. American fans, serious and casual, should be pissed at this interference. We overturned a red card and our reward was losing what made this team so much fun until now.

[Politics Global @PolitlcsGlobal]

🚨🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 NEW: Labour MP Noah Law has asked FIFA President Gianni Infantino to delay Jarell Quansah’s red card suspension until after the World Cup

[Daniel Austin @_Dan_Austin]

Over the years, FIFA has suspended the likes of Nigeria, Kuwait, Indonesia, Pakistan, Congo, Sierra Leone, and Guatemala over government interference in football.

But the US president ringing up to get an on-field decision overturned?

Absolutely fine. Nothing to see here.

[Boya @bartolomerulli]

El mundial es una payasada:

1: Nos metieron 4 tiempos de 25 minutos, directamente se llevaron puesto el deporte.

2: Una selección no pudo alojarse en el país anfitrión.

3: No dejaron entrar al mejor árbitro de Africa designado por FIFA

4: Le perdonaron una tarjeta roja a un futbolista por un llamado del emperador

5: Se juega en 3 países a la vez

6: No dejaron participar a Rusia por la guerra mientras el país anfitrión invadió 3 países el último año.

7: Todo es timba, están apostando hasta en los conventos.

8: Tocó Maná

[Kara @UTDKarra]

Repost if you think Gianni Infantino is the worst FIFA president ever.