How is it a strawman? If motor traffic can only move at pedestrians’ leisure, what happens if they decline to let it through for hours at a time? The soccer players would be committing no crime - the streets are for them first, motor vehicles last.

Are you being deliberately obtuse? Right of way is the right to use the road as a highway, not for another purpose. That applies to motorists just as it applies to other road users.

Half of this “streets for people” stuff is about using the street as a public living room, with people sitting, hanging out, playing, etc., not just walking. I’d definitely support shared space that still gives priority to public transit vehicles moving through.

I'm confident that society would be able to figure out a reasonable law and rely on a reasonable justice system to figure out abusive edge cases.

People playing in a “street for playing” is an edge case?

If the law recognizes some kind of duty to yield and let traffic through, we’re back at status quo.