07-03-2010, 08:16 AM
(07-03-2010, 07:54 AM)Nystul Wrote: I don't know how real soccer fans feel about a handball to prevent a goal in soccer. It is a desperate play with a very harsh penalty. The opponent really ought to make their penalty kick, and then your team is short a man for the rest of the match and you are out that match and possibly future matches. Personally if a player is willing to accept that penalty in order to make a play on the ball and possibly prevent a goal, I don't see a problem with that. Diving and faking or exaggerating injuries in an attempt to get an opposing player booked, on the other hand, just seems like a complete and utter disgrace to the family and friends of anyone who would do it. But, that's an outsider's perspective.
The sad thing for Ghana was that this happened in the last second of the game. Normally a penalty and an expulsion are enough punishment (but hardly an automatic win), however here not hitting the ball would have meant a direct exit for Uruguay, and playing 1 second with 10 men wouldn't be that much of a problem.
Of course automatic goals don't exist, and making a special rule for this circumstance would probably not get much support.
Luckily a case like this doesn't happen too often.