how cruel was that penalty?

Question

it was awarded 5 seconds before the final whistle..poor australia..
what do u think..was it a penalty?if we look at the replay we might see there was a slightest of contact made by lucas neill..but from the referee's angle it looked like there's much contact..also grosso was on control of the ball..so the ref didnt hesitate to give the penalty..but to be fair lucas neill was already on the ground and grosso ran onto him..it was a tough call..that's my opinion..

Answer 1

It was a foolish decision by the referee. Neill had slid to a complete stop, and his slide was actually directed at blocking the anticipated cross, not the player. You're reffing a match that includes overtime, and you call a last second penalty that is at the very least somewhat questionable? Ridiculous, absolutely positively ridiculous.

I do hope that the Italians do not celebrate this "win", just quietly walk to their next match.

Answer 2

Australia put on a great fight to the Italians, but the Australians lacked that 'edge' if you will.
I think the chances Italy had were far more superior, they just had no luck putting the ball in the net. Australia may have had a few of those opportunities, but there wasn't too much edge to those opportunities.
Remember also, Italy was down one man. You could say that THAT sending off was questionalble, just as the penalty call was.
Still, with one man down, Australia couldn't find a way in, so let's not forget that.
Anyway, it was a well contested game. And I think their was a lot of respect among the players, (unlike the Portugal and Netherlands match, I must say)

I feel for the Australians, I really do. The penalty could very well have been a harsh call. I'm not a referee or soccer expert, so I don't know. But let me tell you, Italy would have scored in OT, make no mistake about that, and they would have won it.

I have to say though, the Australian lads are also really good looking. :)

Answer 3

It was a true tragedy, I mean Australia deserved the win, not only did they played alot better, but seeing where they were coming from, noticing how hard it was for them to get there, only to be discualified by some looser low end unproffesional referee. This is the biggest load of crap out of the cup yet, I ve seen other matches where there wasnt fairness either, but this tops it all. FIFA needs to really do something about this, in order to keep a clean fair play game. What pissed me off the most was that the ref was just a mere meter away from the play, and he had the audacity to let it be.

Answer 4

For a match in the knockout stage of the World Cup in injury time a foul has really got to be a mugging IMHO. That was nothing near that. The ref should have let play continue. 50/50, foul v. dive.
Let it play and go to extra time and let the teams decide who wins and not the referee.

Answer 5

Well, overtime was 3 minutes and the Ref went to 5. Was he trying to give Italy an extra chance? The game should have gone into Extra Time.

Answer 6

I was so shocked on how did the game ended. Australians were playing nicely with their heart. it was not only cruel but a complete mistake of a ref. who is completely unfamiliar with Football. I think no SANE ref. will give a penalty in the last second!!

Answer 7

Read this. If a minnow was running down the finishing lane of a 100m dash, with the favourite past winner struggling to keep pace, then someone got too angry they cannot stand this little known beating the seasoned sprinter, and they got out their rifle and BANG! the winning minnow is blasted by a bullet. That how cruel that penalty was, to me.

Answer 8

Australia fans are angry just because they awarded the penalty late in the game, very funny Im sorry but Italy beat Australia.

Answer 9

Even if its was a mistake, it is the way football is. They are many examples through the years. How come Australia didn't score, playing with an extra man for a whole half?

Answer 10

It was the cruelest of the cruel to called that penalty on the last second, should let it go over time