Originally Posted by
colman1860
Gotta disagree on that...he had it up well before cunningham even shot. Just because nobody at the game knows a thing about soccer and is still cheering 15 minutes later...honestly, if you've got any experience watching the game you glance at the linesman on ANY throughpass. it kind of gets to me that the typical BMO crowd is not knowledgeable about the game. Several examples:
"You cant call offside and a foul too" (from a guy behind me). Sure you can. The ref played advantage for Vancouver and brought it back a second later on an offside call. This was one of his better calls throughout the game.
"Cunningham didnt even touch it" (person in my row, on the play where cunningham was offside and then left it for Smith). No, Cunningham didnt touch it, but was still actively offside as he originally went for the ball.
About the ref overall...it didnt seem like he called a great game, but I dont want to completely rip him until ive seen replays. The penalty against us was clearly a foul by brennan. Brennans claim for a penalty on a breakaway was a joke...hes lucky he didnt get called for diving. Kind of takes the bite out of his "you fucking cunt" rant at NE. Which leaves Guevaras wembley goal...no clue whether it crossed the line, but youve got to give it to the linesman, who was right on the goalline and called it right away. Much better view than I had in 108 so I wont challenge him. As for Smith going down in the box, that looked like a clear penalty. Again, havent seen a replay, but I think the ref butchered that call. I think his biggest mistake was letting the game get so out of hand...he was a bit slow reacting to the chippy play which went on throughout the game, and better use of his cards could have stopped that quicker.
Sorry for the speel, I'm a referee myself, and take more of an interest in them than most fans. Also, Torcida, none of this was directed at you apart from the fact that the linesman had his flag up quickly. It just turned into a megapost. Frustrating game anyway.