At the end of a gripping derby between the two shades of blue we have discovered something remarkable.
The deadliest player on the pitch isn’t City playmaker Luke Brattan or golden, shaggy-haired marquee Keisuke Honda. No, this player goes by the name of Deadly Grassblade, and he made his appearance known in the 40th minute.
To recount, 40 minutes 23 seconds into the derby City striker Bruno Fornaroli took the ball down the edge of the Victory box. Three navy shirts lunged after him, but he left them in his wake. He evaded them and he was through to the goal – but not on Deadly Grassblade’s watch.
Grassblade’s magnificent tackle sent Fornaroli crashing into the ground, arms milling, fists pumping, face contorted into a snarling appeal for the penalty. A lengthy pause ensued as Kurt Ams considered this Oscar-winning performance before finally awarding a penalty in recognition of fine acting.
Mark Bosnich tore into the referee at half-time, and he couldn’t be more right – it was a horrible error. The video assistant (VAR) referee and the man in the middle had combined to produce one of the worst officiating howlers in recent memory.
Fornaroli wasn’t touched, yet he went down like he’d been shot. We talk about the VAR malfunction at last season’s grand final as if it makes a difference. On current evidence, VAR would probably have congratulated Kosta Barbarouses on his creative interpretation of offside and still awarded the goal.
Let’s not sugar-coat the facts: Fornaroli dived, plain and simple. His undoubted footballing talent is outmatched only by his stellar acting skills. While such conduct might be the name of the game back in Uruguay, it should not be tolerated in the A-League.
I call upon the FFA to introduce stiffer sanctions for such blatant diving. Is the A-League a place where heroes are made or where actors hone their skills?
Kangas
Roar Rookie
Who is Chris Lynn ? What point are you making? That Melb city or Jarryd Hayne are divers . Is Chris Lynn that Richmond player who dives ? Plays fullback I think Anyhow, Always thought berisha and Victory were synonyms for diving .
JOHN ALLAN
Guest
Usain Bolt & Jaryd Hayne want to be remembered for "multi sport achievements". I read where cricketer Chris Lynn is to avoid diving on the field to protect his shoulder. Don't expect to see him in the Melbourne City squad then!
pakistanstar
Guest
I can actually taste the salt through my PC monitor. In all seriousness though, if this happened to my team I'd be livid and baying for blood. The football public, regardless of who they support, deserve better than this but unfortunately the FFA will keep their heads in the sand over this just like they have with everything else they need to address. VAR controversy ruined the season decider last season then the very next round we've had 3 matches effected by either poor refeering or poor application of the VAR. When will this madness end?
FilippoITA
Roar Rookie
I'm surprised that you're having doubts about this episode! We are all aware of what footballers can do, just to trick the ref and have a benefit (penalty, free kick), in fact there is a world class example of that : Neymar, pro diver at a top flight level, so imagine what can actuall happen in a lower league like the Australian one. Secondly, VAR is giving a great help to referees in Europe but sometimes they don't wanna watch the footage, just to have a point. I know, it makes nonsense, but that's it : refs see technology as a threat to their job.
Chen Yang
Roar Pro
Yeah, imagine that!
Chen Yang
Roar Pro
2 wrongs dont make a right mate. Just because a VAR error benefited Victory last season doesnt mean they should be punished for it now. Also you do realise that football is a contact sport, right? The foul is given only in situations where excessive force is used to gain an unfair advantage. Contact doesnt equate to a foul...it depends on the nature of the contact.
Marty
Guest
MELBOURNE VICTIMS.
Post_hoc
Roar Rookie
So, can you save me the time, I was going to go back and look at old posts about last years grand final, did you post then complaining about VAR? Another question, what did the VAR get wrong? The referee saw contact, awarded a foul, the VAR doing its job saw there was an obvious error as it occurred in the box, the referee corrected and awarded a penalty. Exactly what was wrong? Was it simply Victory lost out?
Martyn50
Roar Rookie
Do they give free kicks at night clubs?
Matt B
Guest
It's not actually. VAR is for clear and obvious errors and bruno's free kick was there. VAR is not to re-referee every foul. VAR was only used to decide if it was in the area which it got 100% correct.
Kangas
Roar Rookie
Geez pun Tough love I wouldn’t like you to referee me . You send me off for snarling .. ????
Kangas
Roar Rookie
Chen Did you complain about the var , when victory were awarded a offside goal in the grand final. ??
Kangas
Roar Rookie
Mate I was hoping the ref would overturn his decision, but he compounded his error . It’s a hard job . What can you do . The game was better without var
Kangas
Roar Rookie
Chen Imagine if the Var didn’t work and effected a grand final?
Punter
Roar Rookie
Thought it did he gave a free kick & VAR said it was inside box, penalty. VAR worked.
Chen Yang
Roar Pro
Dunno what sport youre watching, but VAR was introduced precisely to eliminate the errors 'in real time'
Chen Yang
Roar Pro
The whole point of var is to look at these game changing situations
Chen Yang
Roar Pro
Youre welcome
Matt B
Guest
Sounds like the sweet salty tears of a Victory supporter. Refereeing is done in real time and he decided Bruno had been pushed, which you can plainly see. Yes it was soft but so was so many other decisions that you're not highlighting. Bruno gets kicked and blocked more than most and barely gets anything, so it all events out. And if you want to talk about Karma, VARictory have a title to thank for it!
Nemesis
Guest
Dive? I thought the Coward Punchers call it "Staging for free kicks"?