Who and when?

[Tricky Trevor]

Was it decided that a shove in the back was within the laws of the game?
Every match now you see 3 or 4 of them and every one is a foul.
Koleosho got away with one yesterday in a very dangerous position from Watfords point of view.
TAA has just given Spurs a pen, for me, for shoving Maddison over in the box. As usual the ex-pros spout on about, “not enough for me”, “he went down very easily”. It’s not shoulder to shoulder and needs addressing.

[beddie]

The problem is that because the majority are given once a player gets touched he goes down. It’s shocking that this is happening more and more.

[Claretmutt]

The same goes for foul throws, and the ball
being well out of the corner section.

[elwaclaret]

What I cannot understand is the wrestling that is now allowed at corners, if a player is prevented making a run towards the ball it’s a pen, if a defender is stopped from defending physically its a free kick… it seems because Arsenal are masters of it, it is suddenly legal.

[Dark Cloud]

Well a phantom "shove in the back" cost us a win at West Brom, so some referees are still giving them, even when they've imagined it!

[Bullabill]

What I cannot understand is the wrestling that is now allowed at corners, if a player is prevented making a run towards the ball it’s a pen, if a defender is stopped from defending physically its a free kick… it seems because Arsenal are masters of it, it is suddenly legal.

The problem with this wrestling is the uneven 'price to pay'. A forward gives away a free kick, a defender a penalty. Perhaps a 'left field' solution might be to award a penalty to the defender too, - go to the other end and have a twelve yard shot. That would surely stop all the wrestling initiated by attackers and remove the ugliest part of the game.

[Buxtonclaret]

The cheating starts from the first whistle to the last.
When it continually happens it just becomes the norm.

There are some poor refs, but the way football is now, they're damned if the do something and damned if they don't.
VAR is just one more confusion. ( Although it seems they tried to use it to back the ref sometimes despite what goes on in full view )

The truely obscene amounts of monies involved plays the major role, along with the wall-to-wall TV saturation.

[NottsClaret]

I'd like less ref intervention rather than more, it is a contact sport - does my head in when they say 'there's contact' like that's an offence. There's supposed to be contact! Let them have a bit of a wrestle, a bit of argy bargy.. all adds to the spectacle.

[blatherwickstattoos]

Was it decided that a shove in the back was within the laws of the game?
Every match now you see 3 or 4 of them and every one is a foul.
Koleosho got away with one yesterday in a very dangerous position from Watfords point of view.
TAA has just given Spurs a pen, for me, for shoving Maddison over in the box. As usual the ex-pros spout on about, “not enough for me”, “he went down very easily”. It’s not shoulder to shoulder and needs addressing.

Koleosho’s was a brilliant arm across the forward that knocked him off balance

[ClaretTony]

Well a phantom "shove in the back" cost us a win at West Brom, so some referees are still giving them, even when they've imagined it!

That's as bad a decision as I've seen this season