No more football discussions allowed?

Me and a few other users over in the "MLS 2018/2019 - Vol 1" thread just caught some yellow and red cards from the mod zoom-zoom because we were talking about tonight's game between the New York Yankees and the Chicago Cubs.

The mod basically decided to play judge, jury, and executioner regarding free speech. He’s acting like Bog, deciding what counts as truth and what's a lie. Now, apparently, it's forbidden to comment on what you actually see (!) on the replays—but let's be real, in football, there's no such thing as one universal truth since everything depends on the camera angle and perspective. The mod clearly thinks he understands the game better than the ref Pierluigi Colline: If you dare say anything against the penalty called on Lionel Messi (where the guy clearly tripped) or the handball on Ivan Rakitić (which didn't even get a VAR review), boom—you get an infraction for trolling and your comments get nuked. Why?

Because "posts like yours just spark debates that drag on for two days, leading to five cards and at least 20 deleted posts". Look, I'm not responsible if some fan decides to troll using my point during their usual team bickering, but that's literally what this forum is for—having a discussion to hopefully reach some kind of "refined" conclusion. A mod's job isn't to shut down the conversation, especially not over something so "obvious." Instead of jumping into the debate with actual arguments—which I could have agreed or disagreed with (since referee decisions are rarely black and white)—he's just making it so you can't think, speak, or even acknowledge what the almighty moderator has deemed off-limits. It's honestly pathetic.

I’m not looking for drama, but since we’re talking about it, I might as well mention that I got a yellow card for posting "More than a VAR"—just one of those jokes that's been running on this board forever.

I assume all those "VARcelona" posts and similar puns are being policed just as strictly.

I don't get this sudden wave of strictness. These forums are dying out as it is, and now we're actually punishing people for joking around.

Michael Doyle5 said:A few of us over on the "2018/2019 La Liga - Vol 1" thread just caught some yellow and red cards from the moderators. All because we were discussing tonight's match between FC Barcelona and Sevilla FC.

The mod decided to step in and play judge, jury, and executioner regarding free speech. He’s basically acting like Bog, deciding what constitutes truth and what's a lie. It's become illegal to comment on what you actually see on the screen (!). In soccer, there is no universal truth; everything depends on the camera angle and perspective. Clearly, the moderator thinks he understands the game better than a legend like Pierluigi Colline. If you dare question the penalty called against Lionel Messi (where he clearly tripped) or the handball involving Ivan Rakitić (which wasn't even reviewed by VAR), you get hit with an infraction for trolling and your comments get nuked. Why?

Because "posts like yours spark debates that drag on for two days, resulting in five cards and at least 20 deleted posts". Honestly, it's not my fault if people decide to use those points to troll each other in fan wars. That’s literally what this forum is for—discussion, and through that discussion, finding some kind of "refined" conclusion. A moderator's job isn't to shut down debate, especially not about something so "obvious." Instead of jumping into the fray with actual arguments—which I could have agreed or disagreed with, since refereeing is rarely black and white—he’s decided that we aren't allowed to think, speak, or even observe what the almighty moderator deems off-limits. It's embarrassing.

A moderator shouldn't be banning discussions, but they are supposed to guide them. If he felt your post was going to invite trolls, he had every right to step in. However, you definitely didn't have the right to criticize moderation on the soccer subforum. That's what this specific subforum is for, which is why you got carded.