Inuyasha wrote:Fifa is so corrupt. If that ref wasn't on the take then he was incompetent.
The whole crew was terrible. There was a stretch where the linesmen got 3 consecutive routine possession decisions wrong, all in Croatia's favor. Big Phil practically had an aneurysm.
Edit: 90 minutes later and I've still got steam coming out of my ears. This is gonna be a hard one to shake.
XBL Gamertag: RobVarak
"Ok I'm an elitist, but I have a healthy respect for people who don't measure up." --Aaron Sorkin
Must be tough Rob, I thought your guys hanged in there for sure. A couple of better aimed headers could have ended in their net, heck they should ask EA how to do it properly.
Agree about the poor officiating, that was not a PK.
"If that was a penalty, we should be playing basketball. Those kinds of fouls are penalized there," Croatia coach Niko Kovac said.
Just got done watching. Unlucky Rob, frustrating that was, now we know why Pes lately is so crap and quirky just look at the officials in this game pure crap. Does every nation have to produce a set of officials or what because that lot was not fit for a Sunday league match.
I don't understand why soccer doesn't have 2 refs like hockey, and fine/suspend players for dives. It's too hard for one referee to spot dives in the blink of an eye.
If I were in charge of any professional sport I would be merciless on divers. Right now, the risk/reward on diving is wildly out of balance so it will continue to get worse IMO. Players should be afraid to do it, now it's like 'why not try?'
Champions League has 5 officials. I agree dives/flops should be reviewed and dealt with after the fact.
Hockey is getting worse every year in this regard also.
best part of today's game was that Brazilian soccer player who scored the own goal. they had the camera to follow his reaction and he was looking at someone else like it was the fault of the guy 50 feet away. funny.
btw - telemundo coverage kicks espn 's ass. No idea what they're saying, but don't have to understand spanish. the passion and the love for the game I can hear thru any language. Espn guys' are so dull.
Naples, there were two things that struck me as insane about soccer when I really started getting into it 15+ years ago: The lack of an open and official clock and the dearth of officials. Neither makes any sense, no matter how many times I've heard them defended by reactionaries.
On the bright side, at least they have the goal line tech straightened out and they're using the shockingly sensible spray paint on FK's.
XBL Gamertag: RobVarak
"Ok I'm an elitist, but I have a healthy respect for people who don't measure up." --Aaron Sorkin
Can't wait to see replay implemented. You know that the ref will blow a goal call on the field, they'll go to replay which will show it's a goal, but they won't reverse it. YOU KNOW THAT s*** IS GONNA HAPPEN!
Good writeup on Flopping comparing it to American sports :
How many times does Chris Paul appear to get punched/clawed/clotheslined and otherwise battered about the head and shoulders in a game? What if there were only one referee to officiate whether he was faking or fouled? Now imagine that a foul in the lane meant Paul got a free throw worth 30 points. It doesn’t have to be a shooting foul — any old reach-in, grab, or hold will do. Imagine how often Paul would go flying when he got into the lane. And again, imagine one referee had to handle it all.
This is pretty much what happens in soccer. There’s only so much one person can do when charged with officiating the whole game. It’s no wonder con jobs are so effective, and with the rewards being so bountiful — a penalty, or having an opposing player sent off — it’s no wonder players do so much conning.
However, Brazil dominated possession and kept pushing. Seemed like the game was going to be no better than a tie or Brazil would break through eventually.
Jimmydeicide wrote:Champions League has 5 officials. I agree dives/flops should be reviewed and dealt with after the fact.
Hockey is getting worse every year in this regard also.
Always felt that a player that if a player dives the opposing team should be allowed to kick him in the junk once without sanction. That would get rid of diving pretty quickly.
Re: Rob's suggestion on increasing the number of officials - YES. 1 referee and two linesmen for each half of the field. It's a huge playing area and the action often moves too quickly for the officials to keep up - not to mention that the linesmen are often quite far away from the on-field action.
Doug
"Every major sport has come under the influence of organized crime. FIFA actually is organized crime" - Charles Pierce
RobVarak wrote:On the bright side, at least they have the goal line tech straightened out and they're using the shockingly sensible spray paint on FK's.
Yes, that was good to see. So simple and effective.
The first was awful. The second is somewhat (maybe barely) excusable because it was reasonably possible for the linesman (who is watching through a monsoon after all) to have thought it deflected off a Mexican.
In any case, I don't think these are necessarily fixed. If it were, I think Mexico as a bigger, richer nation would be the beneficiary of the calls. I just think that as we've been talking about here since at least the '06 US-Italy match, this is the kind of stuff that happens when you get refs from unheralded leagues and put them on the biggest stage in sports. I know Japan and Colombia are large countries with rich football cultures nowadays, but these guys still aren't half as good as the average EPL or La Liga offical, not to mention the best of them who end up doing CL games.
XBL Gamertag: RobVarak
"Ok I'm an elitist, but I have a healthy respect for people who don't measure up." --Aaron Sorkin
Spain playing a fair bit better than the Netherlands but Van Persie's excellent equaliser was deserved given the outrageous dive in the box by Diego Costa. On the subject of referees, there's been some bad decisions (though nothing Howard Webb wouldn't be more than capable of in one of the world's most celebrated leagues) and the attitude of the players hasn't helped either. Seems like compared to 20 years ago, the slightest touch or dive constitutes a foul. I'm not advocating a return to the days when Gentile could take chunks out of Maradona and Zico without punishment but maybe strikers get too much protection and too many penalties these days.
FIFA is aware of the inconsistencies with the referees, but reluctant to admit major problems. For the World Cup, FIFA still insists on appointing referees from all parts of the world. Nice idea, but you don’t have to be a psychologist to know that some referees, from countries where soccer isn’t as intensely played or watched, will be spooked by the occasion. This is not the first time nor will be the last that the refs will make mistakes.
I kinda accepted that it's part of this beautiful game and moved on. As long as Blatter is around, not much will get done.
This Dutch team came to play. They keep coming at you even with the lead. Boy Spain looks slow, Casillas that's two mistakes already.
See, that was a perfect occasion when the ref should have given Torres the yellow for insinuating a foul in the penalty area. He didn't take the bait like the Japanese ref did yesterday, but why not punish fakery? He just warned el niño, not enough.
The way this Durch team played today, it reminded me so much of the Dutch team led by another great J. Cryuff of the 70s. Fearless, good team pressure, attacking soccer even with the lead. Robben has been untouchable, the score could have been more catastrophic for the defending champs.
pure crap. Does every nation have to produce a set of officials or what because that lot was not fit for a Sunday league match.
