Absolutely fine and not a problem as long as you do it in the first half hour. No punishment whatsoever.

Is this referring to the notion that you seemingly can't book a player for a foul just because it's early on in the match?

Indeed. Totally ridiculous.

I agree. It is annoying when commentators say that a card shouldn't be given for an offence just because it took place in the first few minutes of a match. If it's a bookable offence, it's a bookable offence, regardless of when it happens.

The other one is when they say that a referee shouldn't send a player off because it will ruin the game as spectacle by making it eleven against ten. So what? If a player has done something which is a sending off under the Laws of the Game, he should go. The ref is there to make decisions based on the Laws of the Game, not to try and make the match more entertaining.

It is never the fault of the players. Always the referee.

As stated it's up to the ref to stick to the laws of the game whethers it's the first minute or the last.

That challenge by Evra summed it up perfectly. It is actually in the interests of the team without the ball to do it.

Overall, I think the referees have been pretty decent so far.


It makes a pleasant change to not see them booking players for virtually every mistimed challenge.

And I agreed with the referee for only booking Pogba and the other player for that scuffle. If Pogba deserved to be sent off, then so did the Ecuador player. He started the problem by kicking at Pogba.

I think players should only be booked for seriously violence play or terrible challenges (eg: Uruquay player at the end of the game against Costa Rica).

No, it's usually done because the referee won't book a player for a first offence..unless it's particularly malicious. I think most (good) referees keep a little mental note of who's doing what. It's not always picked up on tv, or mentioned by the commentator. Sometimes it may not even be a foul, but the ref will indicate with a gesture that he's seen something he didn't like and will take action next time.