Post match thank you Bendtner thread

[Reece]

It was a defo penalty because Arsenal play the greatest football ever known to mankind and that is all that counts.

[Dhav]

Yep that's what I said during the game - NOT a stone-wall pen and debatable at best. This morning I saw that Daily Mirror pleb Darren Lewis on SSN and he called it "the most blatant penalty since Sky Sports began covering football in 1992".

What a ****ing moron.

Only a very slight exaggerration there. If the penalty was so balatant, why did SSN never show the replay of the incident from the angle above which AFII has posted? Seems like Sky News showed it, but I watched SSN after the game for a couple of hours and while all their reports stressed how "Arsenal were denied a pen when Kuyt pulled down Hleb" (or words to that effect) none of them featured a replay of the incident from the angle AFII posted above. They only showed it from behind. I was beginning to think I imagined seeing it from that angle during the game.

Someone was reading the Mirror on the tube today, and the headline on the back page was a pic of the ref with the headline "I'm no reffin' cheat" The press really are hitting this one hard. It's all Wenger's been talking about as well. I wonder why?

It was a defo penalty because Arsenal play the greatest football ever known to mankind and that is all that counts.

From the front you can see Kuyt barely touches him and that Hleb falls in the opposite direction to that in which he was "pulled" by Kuyt. Also look at the way the right leg goes from under him when he gets touched as well. I'm surprised no one in the press (apart from David Fairclough) has talked about what a meal Hleb made of it.

[barnes10]

regardless of what the rule says, the linesman actually flagged it for offside. so he'd decided that bendtner was offside. so even if the ball had hit the net, we'd have had the free-kick.

[Exiled_red]

Actually, I was suprised to read a pretty good piece on this a few weeks back in the Guardian explaining what the law says. Apparently, they redrafted it in 2005 to make it very clear but (surprise, surprise) the lazy-arse pundits who get paid to tell us all about the game havent bothered to keep up to date.

The link is here:

http://football.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2267604,00.html

And the short version is, a player is only offside if they:
(a) touch the ball (not attempting to touch it, actually touching it).
(b) are blocking an opponent's line of vision.
(c) do something to distract an opponent (like dummy to play it).
(d) gain an advantage from the ball rebounding to them off the post or another player.

So if Bendtner had jumped out of the way, he wouldnt have been offside.

Now whether the referee would have got it right ....

Is that not the vaguest rule ever, how do you decide if an opponent is being destracted? If you are in a defenders sight you could argue that was distratcting. (I'm assuming that blocking an opponents line of vison means you are between the opponent and the ball)

Also if you go to play the ball but miss you are onside, but if you dummy the ball you are offside again that's a difficult one to call in some situations

[Kenneth]

regardless of what the rule says, the linesman actually flagged it for offside. so he'd decided that bendtner was offside. so even if the ball had hit the net, we'd have had the free-kick.

But Bendtner played the ball so he was given offside. Had he not, it probably wouldn't have been.

[MattB]

But Bendtner played the ball so he was given offside. Had he not, it probably wouldn't have been.

Is the correct answer...

[saveferris]

That was a penalty though.....Kuyt clearly dragged his arm across and referee was RIGHT infront of it...cant believe he didnt call it to be honest

It was a defo pen, he drags Hleb before he falls over, he was off balance because of the contact, the fact that Hleb falls over after Kuyt's arm is out of the way helps Dirk but it was a pen.

I also noticed Gray's comment about Benitez's luck, its a spur of the moment comment. How can you deny has hasnt had any in this competition, it may not be year in and year out but they are siginificant pieces of luck, there were 2 pieces of incredible luck for us on weds night the pen and Bendtner's "clearance". These are result changing bits of luck.

Richard Keys...what a prat.

[Dhav]

It was a defo pen, he drags Hleb before he falls over, he was off balance because of the contact, the fact that Hleb falls over after Kuyt's arm is out of the way helps Dirk but it was a pen.

I also noticed Gray's comment about Benitez's luck, its a spur of the moment comment. How can you deny has hasnt had any in this competition, it may not be year in and year out but they are siginificant pieces of luck, there were 2 pieces of incredible luck for us on weds night the pen and Bendtner's "clearance". These are result changing bits of luck.

Richard Keys...what a prat.

Bendtner's stupidity and Hleb's attempt to cheat when he could have stayed on his feet and gone for goal - I dont see luck there, I see Arsenal's inadequacies.

Same with the 2001 Cup FInal, yes they outplayed us and outclassed us, but I cant see how they can complain when they missed so many chance while we dispatched the few that came our way with ruthless efficiency.

[ohhh_yeah]

It wasn't a penalty by the way, a clear dive by Hleb

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9gGGU0NHdk

where did the video go??? any chance of reuploading it???