Newslaundry Podcast

Rahul Puri and Samar Khan bring you the first podcast since the FIFA World Cup 2018 kick-off. Samar begins with a remark, “It has been a crazy kind of a World Cup. It has been different from the others, it has been a li'l bit of a wake-up time for the big boys?!”Rahul agrees, “I don’t think anybody would’ve even picked the results that happened in the first round of matches. Argentina being held to a draw. Brazil being held to a draw. Germany losing to Mexico being the big shock in the World Cup...”Rahul observes that it has been a World Cup of penalties (fouls). Samar says, “The amount of penalties that have been given -- in a way it’s a good thing...in a way it’s a bad cup.” Rahul says, “It has been a fairly clean World Cup. The referees have been reluctant to hand out cards. We’ve only had one red card. Let’s face it, it was a stone-cold red.”The duo debates the use of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system that has seen differing opinions across the football spectrum. Comparing with the review system in cri