We’ll never get one conclusive answer of whether or not it was a foul by Rafael Marquez on Arjen Robben, but a penalty was called and the Netherlands beat Mexico to make it into the World Cup quarterfinals. As expected, the memes and jokes at the expense of Robben diving were soon to follow.
It was a foul, or at least there was contact. It’s impossible to argue about that. Whether or not it’s a foul probably depends on whether or not you supported Mexico or the Netherlands in the match. Arjen Robben took a dive as well. He might have been clipped, but there it’s disappointing to see footballers looking like they’re about to start a swimming sprint instead of carrying on with the play.
The curse of Mexico not being able to get past the round of 16 when they’re not hosting the World Cup continues. Leading for the entire second half and being better for the first 60 minutes weren’t enough. Some things never change.
And the Dutch? It’s not great football, but their manager is smart enough to take necessary risks and make changes to his tactics. Few would have taken out Robin van Persie and introduce a different striker. It paid off, even though it took a controversial decision at the final moment possible to make it happen, not to mention a penalty in favor of Mexico that should have been called earlier.
