Excellent theatrics from Declan last night. He knew that protesting his innocence so

emphatically VAR would sit up and take notice. They would have just let it go had Declan accepted the decision but the way he managed to convey so convincingly that he hadn't touched Mbaps was masterful. Well played Declan but of course, moving forward, a new era of performative histrionics about any penalty decision will have now begun.

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Originally Posted by Herbert Augustus Chapman

emphatically VAR would sit up and take notice. They would have just let it go had Declan accepted the decision but the way he managed to convey so convincingly that he hadn't touched Mbaps was masterful. Well played Declan but of course, moving forward, a new era of performative histrionics about any penalty decision will have now begun.

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Who was that lad of ours in a PL game who stayed down in the box claiming he had a head injury? A min or two later, the ref stopped the game for treatment and VAR then had a look and saw that he'd been fouled. If he hadn't stayed down we wouldn't have got a pen.

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Originally Posted by Herbert Augustus Chapman

emphatically VAR would sit up and take notice. They would have just let it go had Declan accepted the decision but the way he managed to convey so convincingly that he hadn't touched Mbaps was masterful. Well played Declan but of course, moving forward, a new era of performative histrionics about any penalty decision will have now begun.

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Completely agree. It was all set up for one of those "tit for tat" things as proof of their 'calling it both ways'. In fact I was expecting it when they gave us the pen. What I didn't count on was the vociferous protest from Rice. This is positive 'dark arts' as opposed to RM with their rather juvenile attempts to employ the same.

How far has Mbappe sunk, to be reduced to diving.

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Originally Posted by Chief Arrowhead

Completely agree. It was all set up for one of those "tit for tat" things as proof of their 'calling it both ways'. In fact I was expecting it when they gave us the pen. What I didn't count on was the vociferous protest from Rice. This is positive 'dark arts' as opposed to RM with their rather juvenile attempts to employ the same.

How far has Mbappe sunk, to be reduced to diving.

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scratch a snake's belly.