I was rooting for Columbia because of James and they were a real up and comer. And then this game happened. Disgusted by both sides, but Zuniga really stands out as a complete ****ing POS.
I saw his hit on Hulk earlier but didn't think much of it. From this angle and in slomo, it is absolutely horrendous. Inexcusable. He's a hitman masquerading as a player. This is as accidental as Suarez losing balance and landing his teeth on Chiellini.
Zuniga should be banned for two years or something, it really looks like he tried the best he could to legitimately injure Hulk and Neymar. Disgrace to football.
Sounds to me that Zuniga was defending his teammate (James). There wasn't a yellow card given until the 64th minute, at which point there had been 40 fouls. Looks like homefield advantage blew up in Brazil's face here.
I would agree to ban him for half of his life (Life of a soccer player 18 years) WTH but you can't get evidence that it was premeditated. Zuniga is a good player but yeah I don't think Fifa would do it. Suarez case came in place not because he bit Chiellini once but of former cases. You better believe it. If they can prove, Zuniga is out there to end players' careers then yeah they probably punish him for that I am thinking it went similar like this: Colombians thought Brazil would meet them with a soft but technical style of play but never would have thought Brazil came to play physical. The Colombians panicked collectively, went to mimic the way Brazilians did in the first half. Tons of fouls, especially concentrated on the best player which is very common. James and Neymar both got their share. Neymar went down, because it got warlike, and not much fairplay. If it is just a one time thing, you probably review it, suspend Zuniga for 1 or 2 games, that is all because again you cannot prove his intentions were pure 'evil' and 2) Brazil won and banning Zuniga for life or years won't change the fact that Neymar cannot play in the World Cup. shet happens on the pitch, players like Marc Vivien Foe died on it (I think it was also in a game against Colombia).
Refs are putrid this WC but if you think refs lost control of the game, going out to ban every other guy who committed a hard foul means the Fifa lost control of everything. ------You can as well to go and ban DeJong for the foul on Alonso, a lot of players. This can end as well in a lockout with players going on strikes.
So, both teams were playing rough, the refs were terrible, and a guy on Colombia should get banned because a guy on Brazil got hurt? Are you going to start banning players for all intentional fouls that might cause injury?
Are you serious? This guy was trying to blow out hulks knee. There is a difference between playing physical and trying to flat out injure someone. It's not the result, it is INTENTION. Likewise if James got his knee blown out or his back fractured and you clearly saw Silva or Luiz or whoever aim studs out right at the knee attempting to cause and ACL injury? I would call for their banning too. There is no place in sports for trying to injure someone. Ref should get his dumb ass banned too.
Fifa love their refs so they won't even consider it. Neymar is buit like a stick, and I wonder how some guys like Asian ones can go on playing against Europeans, Africans that are 10 pounds or more heavier. Physical plays happen every other game, biting someone happens once every 500 games.
In my defense, I did not see it. I felt the Brazilians started the physicality, coming out of the gates like bulls. FWIW, I did bet on Colombia advancing but I assumed they would do so by dominating not being passive.
Of course they did. The refs weren't going to give the home team any yellows. And they didn't until the game was way out of hand.
It was idiotic by both sides. Bush league moves by both teams. This is why the game gets called more tightly and leagues become more softer over time because of morons that go out there and try to hurt people.
I think you are used to the rules in the NBA or Basketball. Soccer does not have superstar calls or calls for extra midgets or skinny players in order to protect them against taller, heavier, more physical players. I can recall a lot of cases in the past when defenders tackled and the other player went out with a tear or broken leg..... And not everyone got ejected, some got away with a yellow card. Did you see how Schweinsteiger manhandle Valbuena? It was a normal tackle but Valbuena being a midget of what 4'11 did not absorb contact like a normal 6'0 guy would. They did not call a foul. It knocked the wind out of Valbuena for sure. He rested for couple of minutes.
I did not consider that a dirty play. That was fine. Schweinsteiger and Valbuena just collided going at the ball. Now, Studs out aiming at the knee, pushing at the knee instead of a natural swipe at the ball? The neymar foul I agree isn't as clear, but wow that attempt at hulk is clear as day. Defour got red carded for slamming a Korean player on the foot with his studs on a dirty play. And that was a lot more milder than the hulk play.
