2014 World Cup

[A N Mouse]

Of course Pepe should have walked away from Muller's histrionics, but he didn't, he walked back and touched Muller's face while he lay on the ground.
Muller then simulated getting hit. When a player simulates getting hit in the face, loud groan, agonised grimace and hand clutching the wounded face, he is trying to fool the ref into thinking he was actually hit. He is not just trying to grab the ref's attention to an incident, or get a free kick, or a penalty, but he's embellishing the context for the ref to dish out a red card. The red card is the only option for violent conduct. The purpose of Muller's simulation was to get a fellow pro sent off.
When players don't simulate agonised prolonged torture from the mildest of touches you'd be surprised at just differently a ref treats such an incident and still keep control over the game.

Muller went down, a little to easy, after getting hit by a flailing arm (sometimes given as a free, sometime not). The only histrionics after Pepe stuck the head in him, was jumping up and getting all in his face - without sticking the head in might I add.

Nobody else seems to be suggesting any kind of simulation after the second incident - it's all about the first one (elbows etc).

I'm still unsure, but I thought the ref was letting play go on, until Pepe lost the plot.

Who's the bigger fool, the fool or the fool who follows him?

I can can't be the only one finds it funnier than it should be that Portugal were punished for someone getting carried away about another player's perceived cheating?

[DannyInvincible]

Muller went down, a little to easy, after getting hit by a flailing arm (sometimes given as a free, sometime not). The only histrionics after Pepe stuck the head in him, was jumping up and getting all in his face - without sticking the head in might I add.

Nobody else seems to be suggesting any kind of simulation after the second incident - it's all about the first one (elbows etc).

The BBC replays don't actually show this and I'm having difficulty finding a replay on YouTube as FIFA are pretty strict about removing any footage that's uploaded, but, from what I can recall, Müller did react to the "headbutt" by whipping his head back before rising to his feet to remonstrate with Pepe. It was a delayed movement not directly caused by any head motion of Pepe's, but I can't be sure whether Müller was trying to give the appearance that greater force had been exerted upon him by Pepe's head or whether he was just innocently pulling his head back from Pepe's to get away from the situation (before launching in again with a verbal attack once on his feet again, of course).

[osarusan]

Nobody else seems to be suggesting any kind of simulation after the second incident - it's all about the first one (elbows etc).

No, I though that after Pepe made bent over him and made slight contact with his head, he (briefly) pretended to be in agony from the vicious headbutt.

Like you, though, I thought the referee was just letting it go until he suddenly raced in and showed the red. I wonder what reason he gave in his official report.

[DannyInvincible]

Müller's reaction to the "headbutt" was captured and shown in a later replay from another angle. I managed to find it again during the BBC coverage on iPlayer at 43:00. I'm pretty sure that's UK-only, so I've compiled a series of snapshots that show Müller's feigned agony:

[strangeirish]

A disaster waiting to happen at the Maracana Stadium...

[pineapple stu]

Waterford Whispers' take on the Eamon Dunphy incident.

Now that's sarcasm.

[peadar1987]

Stuff wobbling isn't a major issue in itself, in fact, limited movement is a good way to relieve stress, and stop stuff from snapping (most skyscrapers sway in the breeze).

However, if it's symptomatic of a lack of structural integrity, that's when it gets worrying.

[Crosby87]

Bridges move too. The GWB can move quite a bit. Nigel Harps has a famous picture of himself on the Golden Gate during an earthquake.

[pineapple stu]

The World Cup is back!

What a goal. What. A. Goal.

[Stuttgart88]

Aus playing really well. I hope MON is taking notes. Nice to see an underdog on the front foot and dictating terms rather than absorbing pressure and hoping for a counter.

Owls Fans' voice has just popped into my head though, telling me he couldn't care less how Aus plays, it's a results business!

[Stuttgart88]

No argument over that yellow for Cahill. Misses next game.

[pineapple stu]

Shameful penalty award.

Another non-European/South American ref. Am I being racist or do they make more than their share of big mistakes? (See my earlier post after the opening game)

Australia can't come out of this group having lost to Chile, can they?

[pineapple stu]

Probably not. Van Persie evens it up.

[geysir]

Müller's reaction to the "headbutt" was captured and shown in a later replay from another angle. I managed to find it again during the BBC coverage on iPlayer at 43:00. I'm pretty sure that's UK-only, so I've compiled a series of snapshots that show Müller's feigned agony:

Pepe showed great restraint there, Tim Cahill would have stuck in the boot and Liam Brady would have made a case for justifiable assault on RTE.

[Crosby87]

The croc hunter would not be happy if he were still alive.

[ArdeeBhoy]

Pepe's sending-off was for his secondary action, which wasn't a head-butt though could have been construed as an attempted one.
Or so the pundits say. Though for me, his look of intent was hardly gracious, though TM deserved a yellow for acting the maggot.

And Oz' were game, but lame. Exciting but ultimately irrelevant.

Never mind yer Owls man, can you imagine what the doc or My Post would have said.

[Stuttgart88]

Lame? They were a fraction off scoring a third seconds before the Dutch did. I wish Ireland were that lame.

I think they were gifted the penalty though. Terrible decision.

The Dutch? Ordinary enough team with two exceptional forwards. I think their keeper looks confident.

I loved Vieira's description of the Cahill tackle. A Roy Keane tackle, unnecessary, played the man and a definite yellow. Meaow.

[ArdeeBhoy]

Ultimately they won nothing, stutts. Hear you about their bad luck up top, but their defence is worse than even ours, probably.
Cahill's a really class act and would get into any other WC squad even now, but the rest looks very ordinary.

The Dutch as ever, besides last Friday, rarely resemble the sum of their parts.

[geysir]

Australia have given a whole hearted account with surpassing effect. When a team achieves that, they have not lost.

[ArdeeBhoy]

They have if they come bottom of the group with nil points. Albeit with rather more panache than our own feeble effort two years ago, so far.