'The last man'

To any soccer fans who might be reading this: If you are going to comment on the sport, especially if you're doing so a broadcaster, here's a little tip.

LEARN THE BLOODY RULES!

The Laws of the Game can be found here.

Read them before spouting off.

I realize that some, like the offside rule, are ridiculously complicated. But the overwhelming majority of rules are very straight forward.

According to Law 12, you can be sent off (red carded) for 'denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity... by an offense punishable by a free kick or penalty kick.'

The phrase 'last man' appears no where.

I don't know how many times I've heard some ignorant commentator ranting hysterically that a player wasn't the last man and therefore didn't deserve to be red carded for his foul.

It's not surprising that the phrase 'ignorant' and 'ranting hysterically' often go together. And such stupidity is as likely to come from an English commentator as an American one.

But if you're not going to learn the rules, then you should STFU.

And you should certainly pass your broadcasting responsibilities to someone who actually knows what they're talking about.

Whether a player was the last man has no bearing in and of itself on whether that player deserves to be sent off.