Manchester City vs Chelsea in the BWSL has thrown the new laws around time-wasting and dissent further into the spotlight, so how do we balance the law and feeling a game?
The issue is, as it always has been, deliberate timewasting. Alex Greenwood wasn't deliberately time wasting. If she'd done that in the 87th minute rather than the 37th minute you could draw a different conclusion. That's were having a feel for the game is appropriate. On Saturday my team had 2 players booked in the first half for time wasting over taking throw ins. Why should a player take punishment for their team mates not giving them options? Adding the time on should be punishment enough. Does this mean a player dummying a free kick will be penalised for time wasting?
As for dissent, it all depends what was said. If the players made derogatory comments or swore then no problem. Asking for explanation of disagreeing with a decision though? A referee should have enough about them to be able to deal without producing a card.
The issue is, as it always has been, deliberate timewasting. Alex Greenwood wasn't deliberately time wasting. If she'd done that in the 87th minute rather than the 37th minute you could draw a different conclusion. That's were having a feel for the game is appropriate. On Saturday my team had 2 players booked in the first half for time wasting over taking throw ins. Why should a player take punishment for their team mates not giving them options? Adding the time on should be punishment enough. Does this mean a player dummying a free kick will be penalised for time wasting?
As for dissent, it all depends what was said. If the players made derogatory comments or swore then no problem. Asking for explanation of disagreeing with a decision though? A referee should have enough about them to be able to deal without producing a card.