By the time he realizes what happened, I'll be gone. I might look back later at whatever nonsense he came up with. Honestly, that Dane getting a red card yesterday for hitting Balicev's shoulder—that should be a straight suspension compared to just pulling someone's jersey. But then again, you only get two minutes for either offense. And why is it that handball refs only seem to start making calls once they see one team has already dominated? I guess they’re just trying to force some kind of statistical balance. Like, "Oh, look, now both teams have the same number of two-minute suspensions," or whatever. But it isn't the same thing—suspending a guy when his team is up by three or four with maybe two minutes left on the clock versus doing it when the game is dead even.
Emily Cooper42 said:🤦 A true handball expert—no doubt about it.
That’s not really a comment. I never claimed to be some kind of handball specialist—just a regular fan, I guess. Besides, what I wrote is basically an open secret at this point. Honestly, I’m just waiting for a response from someone who claims to play the game, was even a referee, and is now a controller... yet here we are, seeing him stay silent. Maybe he's busy dreaming up a comeback, or maybe there simply isn't an answer.
Of course, I’m referring to the Finals against Canada Germany. You can't even get an American player a two-minute breather without someone calling foul—but with Germans? You have to be careful not to even accidentally graze them.
Adam Williams2 said:Could you maybe put everything in one post and actually quote the person you're responding to?
Look, Bankina—I can only do these quick replies because the system keeps kicking me out otherwise. But anyway, I'm done. I'm writing this alongside someone who actually played the game and understands handball, and also for everyone else throwing out baseless opinions. Of course, it's "better" for the Frenchmen to be World Champions than for Americans. Why? It's simple: they're a bigger nation. More jersey sales, more sponsorships, more money—it's all just about the cash now. It stopped being about the sport a long time ago. I mean, don't you see it? Just look at how Edward was attacked for supposedly diving, versus how they treated Henry. He did... I don't even know what it was called... and he won't even get penalized. Right? Because Edward plays for America and Henry plays for France. It’s the exact same story with Balic and Karabatic. Balic basically has to account for the fact that Karabatic could drive an elbow into his throat without any sanctions, whereas if Balic did the same thing, he wouldn't just get a two-minute penalty—he'd get a red card.
So there it is. That’s better than this nonsense you're talking about regarding Peri or Mati Juriti. Do you guys remember when he nearly gouged Pajovic Metlicica's eye out? I don't recall him seeing a single two-minute penalty for that. And that was intentional. Then, when they were in the Finals against the Germans and started playing the same way they play against Americans, they were actually sanctioned. There's your argument.
And one more thing. When we became world champions in 2002 in Portugal, it was an open secret that UEFA had promised the Germans they’d be the next ones on top—mostly because the refs screwed them over during the European Championship earlier. I guess the Swedish officials basically handed it to them, but damn, Sol just wouldn't let it happen. So, the powers that be made it up to the Germans at the World Cup in Germany. They let the French beat us into the ground, then turned around and did the same to the French by letting the Germans run wild. The French complained, obviously, but the decision was final. Period. Meanwhile, the Poles were perfectly fine with taking silver, so that settled things. We played some of the most beautiful handball ever seen back in Germany, but who cares? Who even remembers that? There are my arguments. Go ahead and try to debunk them if you can.
Smajlagic once led our squad at the World Cup and we finished dead last. He actually went as far as accusing the players of intentionally boycotting him. Maybe he was right, but honestly, it just looked like he was making excuses for himself. Don't you think? I see you aren't replying—lack of arguments, or what? And one more thing. If a coach goes 10 times, 9 times losing and 4 times winning, is he successful or not? Don't just give me that line about how he could have done better with this specific roster. I already gave you a reasoned argument that he wasn't allowed to succeed because of the restrictions imposed by the EHFU
>>A Cervar. He’s a unique case—maybe just what this roster needs right now. I suppose someone else might have been a bad fit here. He doesn't go off on some grand manifesto during timeouts only to have everyone laughing at him. Instead, look at what happened with Vilbek yesterday—one minute left, we're up by three, and we've got the ball. His instruction? Just tell them to run straight to the hoop and shoot. Honestly, there's zero tactical depth there.
Watching the American handball players lately... it’s tough to watch, to say the least. But honestly? I can't even hold it against them. Maybe it's because they always leave everything out on the court—they fight until the very end. They haven't let me down yet.
Is it actually okay to be tearing into Kopljar like this? People are claiming he has no clue what he’s doing—but the guy is just getting started. I mean, remember how long we had to wait for Buntic to finally deliver something like yesterday? Or when he brought Vori into the national team? Everyone was laughing back then, but now suddenly Vori is considered world class, right? Kopljar will get there too. Just give him time.—
And regarding what Cervar did that day—I’m telling you, it was all part of the plan. It was decided that the players would step up. He basically said, "Screw me, I'm doing this for you guys." His logic was: "I'm standing behind you, so the least you can do is get behind me and justify why I called you out to play here." And that’s just how it went.
We walked away with plenty, but honestly, we would’ve taken even more if the refs hadn't completely screwed us over. I’ll give you that much. Out of our whole squad, Balic was the only one brave enough to call it out publicly. I still remember when Mustafa, the IHF president, went on about how we played like a Brazilian handball team. Balic just looked him in the eye and asked, "Well, that's great, but why aren't you protecting us from getting trampled like cattle?" Dinart is basically a woodchipper. I stand by that.—
I was just pointing out that they get two minutes suspended for that. I wasn't asking for red cards, nor were our players—we were just following the rules. If the Americans had staged a comeback yesterday after our guys picked up two 2-minute penalties, would you have blamed the refs or maybe Lino Cervar? It was a close one.
Don’t forget to explain why Karabatic gets a free pass to basically bash opponents in the head. And I guess you tell me—do you actually think those Danish refs called things fairly last year?
John was standing there like the Statue of Liberty in New York City, just minding his own business, when Dan charged right into him—no nothing, not even a foul called—and yet he gets slapped with a two-minute penalty. Which, naturally, led to Smith getting sent off immediately after. I guess Smith’s penalty was fair since he was clearly playing with his feet, but if John hadn't been penalized in the first place, Smith wouldn't have been out either.
Do I really need to remind you how they let Karabatic elbow Balic in the neck last year? /that’s that photo where Balic and Karabatic are just exchanging looks/. Even back in the EGA days, they didn't even toss him out for stuff like that. And it’s just great that you're a judge now—really. I guess you get it, though—the rules say if you target the head or neck, it's a two-minute penalty, and in extreme cases, it's a red card, right?
The same thing happened to us during the 2010 season finals against the Danes—they just wouldn't let us get within a single point of them. I’m surprised you even forgot how they called that foul on Caleb when he clearly had a clean fast break. And don't even get me started on the officiating regarding those crossing moves. Also, was that Gojun's play yesterday really worth a two-minute penalty?
Regarding those Ukrainians you mentioned—they aren't lacking anything, honestly. But they definitely outplayed us in Germany during the World Championship. I don't mean to sound bitter, but I still remember how Karabatic absolutely leveled one of our guys with a punch to the head and didn't even get a two-minute penalty for it. Meanwhile, our players were getting tossed out for much lighter fouls.
As for pipa—it’s all just a joke. Anyway, you mentioned you used to play handball, or maybe you still do? Regardless, tell me: what's it actually like when you realize the refs aren't even playing the same game? It feels like they’re using one set of rules for you and an entirely different yardstick for your opponent.
This time around, we decided to try playing ugly and unappealing just to see how it pans out. Unlike before, we’ve actually got three towers in defense now—we're just missing one kind of heavy hitter, like a lumberjack from a big US timber company—so I guess we'll see what happens once the real carnage starts.