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DEL.ICIO.USSeeing red, and a seeing-eye goal
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
AP / The red card issue at the World Cup has become a fiasco.
The most red cards ever at a World Cup, and it’s still in the second round. You wanted crackdowns, FIFA, and you got it. But what a fiasco!
Off the Ball thought some of the refereeing in 2002 was a travesty, but it was mere offsides calls and the like then. This one is about sending players off and taking the fate of the World Cup out of the hands of the players. The uneven nature of so many of the bookings and ejections is what ought to concern FIFA even more than rough play.
Then again, the Solons of World Soccer are interested more in appearances than in actually curbing the rough stuff on the field. The effect of the incoherence of these calls is to make teams totally confused and even fearful of how to play the game. Cards are being whipped out before warnings are given. Giving little room for the referee’s discretion has been a disaster, and it’s all FIFA’s fault.
In its typically irresponsible way, FIFA didn’t give referees much direction on how to set the tone for games, on how to defuse the hotheads before they do something deserving of a card. It’s book-em or bust, with the greater fear for referees not being assigned for later games in the tournament. An inflexible law-and-order approach is ruining what’s been a pretty terrific World Cup otherwise.
Having said that, all of the admiration Off the Ball ever had for Luis Figo has evaporated in that footy farce on Sunday. Portugal’s iconic player should have been sent off for a nasty head butt, then got away with faking a cleat to the face later on. He went down as though he were clipped by a Dutch sniper while charging A Bridge Too Far. Referee Valentin Ivanov only inflamed matters with each booking, and the second yellow issued to Deco should have been kept in his pocket. A single-game World Cup record for yellow cards (16) and red cards (4). This lunacy made Italy-USA look like a Norcross Youth Soccer Association U-12 tussle.
So FIFA Boss Man Sepp Blatter has a lot of nerve saying that Ivanov deserved a yellow card himself. FIFA is solely to blame for such a sloppy, unnecessary string of events, but as usual it will continue to exist in denial of any culpability.
Whether Deco — whose suspension is being appealed — or the injured Cristiano Ronaldo are available for the quarterfinals, Portugal may still have enough to finally put an underwhelming England side out of its misery. So much talent, and so little to show for it.
The best way to enjoy England is to watch it among ex-pats, which Off the Ball did on Sunday at Atlanta’s soccer mecca, where the overflow crowd howled “Rule Brittania” when not swearing at Sven’s Men.
After David Beckham’s sizzling free kick goal, Off the Ball’s colleague Marco Sloquinho, an ardent Anglophile, was nearly in tears. Almost as much as he admitted to being when he stepped foot recently in Munich’s famed Hofbrauhaus, the worldwide headquarters of the Church of Beer.
“That ball had eyes,” Marco Sloquinho quipped, sipping on his Stella Artois. “Big, black, BEAUTIFUL eyes!”
Yes, but Becks was a sick boy at the time, suffering from dehydration on a very hot and humid day in Stuttgart. Off the Ball found a picture his actions shortly after the goal, and wished she hadn’t. At least not before lunch. England’s queasiness, Off the Ball opines, doesn’t appear to be a momentary condition.
As if all that weren’t enough, how about the way Italy — aka the Naples Racquet and Diving Club — pulled its chestnuts out of the fire against a more deserving Aussie side on Monday. A PK by Francesco Totti on the last play of the game, in the fourth minute of stoppage time. The 10-men Azzurri survive, just barely, and the only thing that Off the Ball liked about it is that Italy is the last team she still has alive in her World Cup pool.
It was hard not to call the PK, but damn, the referee deciding another game! And what a horrible, tragic way for the gutsy, appealing Socceroos to get sent home. Oy oy oy!
Comments
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By Henry
June 26, 2006 6:04 PM | Link to this
Evenso refereeing has improved, probably the FIFA Masters have gotten the message that is not the way to officate games. Both games today were well officiated except for the penalty to Italy. It was so obvious to everyone in the world that it was adive, but the referee only 5 yard away gave it anyway. Sad.
The second game was probably the worst exibition in this tournament, but was the best officated game. So much for today.
By J. Michael
June 26, 2006 7:49 PM | Link to this
I think the Portugal-Holland death match really went downhill after Robben took a Portuguese high boot in the penalty box. And the ref made no call.
A pk goal for Holland would have tied things up and maybe the two squads would have chilled out a bit.
Still think that the Portuguese will be too drained to put up a fight against England.
By Chris
June 26, 2006 8:52 PM | Link to this
Switzerland just got a new sponsorhip deal: “Swiss Miss”
That Scolari is a funny guy. He wants Deco to be available in the next game because Holland was not showing sportsmanship by not kicking the ball back to them so their player had to get decked. Hey Big Phil I think the Dutch might have been a little dillusional from the headbutts.
The Italians win on a crap call. To the American soccer players out there don’t be afraid to fall in the box. One good dive and you could have doubled your goal total. Well at least we would have gotten another shot on goal. We might have done the “Swiss Miss” and not scored.
Whoever is there for the finals America can still take solice in the fact that their supporters will have to drink crap American Budweiser Beer while they are in the stadium. Bavaria enjoy our amber waves of grain.
By Chris
June 27, 2006 12:25 PM | Link to this
Off the wire:
“American superstar Freddy Adu has confirmed he will be leaving DC United after the current MLS season ends. The 17-year-old continues to be linked with a move to Old Trafford, although Premiership Champions Chelsea reportedly remain interested. — clubcall.com”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Rossi
The US player upward mobility continues. First thing the new US coach needs to do is bring Adu and Giuseppe Rossi into a full international. If Adu and Rossi both get first team football at Man Utd we could go into 2010 with 3 Man Utd players. Two attacking players and a keeper off a top EPL club would be very nice. If we get Thiago from the Chicago Fire US citizenship we will have a very solid attacking team for South Africa. Throw in some Convey, Demppsey, Lee Nguyen from PSV and some Beasley if he gets his form back. Sir Alex already works for an American. The Glazers can hook him up with Hulk Hogan’s house thats on the market in Tampa and a plane to get up to Cary and I think we will be all set.
By Rutuger
June 27, 2006 1:25 PM | Link to this
Wow—Adu in the Premiership at 17? Imagine how good he could be at 22 or 23 if he can get into the starting 11 in the next couple of years.
Also, BBC One is apparently streaming the WC games now. you couldn’t listen outside of the UK during group play, but I just listened to Ghana-Brazil at work (but am going home at 3 to cheer on mes Bleus!!!).
If interested:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/
By Nicholas Irwin
June 27, 2006 2:16 PM | Link to this
I agree Chris, the future does look bright for 2010. Assuming we can convince Rossi that he’s American (let’s see…you were born in America, Italy doesn’t want you, they don’t even recognize you as Italian…), our team does look very good from an attacking standpoint, and with Onyewu, Spector, Pearce, et al, on defense, that should be pretty good, as well. And since all of those players already play in Europe (many with major clubs), I think that we will be in overall better shape.
As far as the officiating goes, it has been absolutely horrid. It is so bad that it is actually this close to completely ruining the World Cup. And as you said, Wendy, it is all FIFA’s fault. How Sepp Blatter became head of FIFA, I don’t know, but I think it may be time for a coup. The man is a complete idiot and is pretty much single-handedly responsible for this abomination. I’m convinced that the only reason FIFA keeps him around is so that they can laugh at his retarded ideas that he makes public every few months (World Cup every two years, all leagues have to be reduced to 18 teams, etc.).
As far as the game the other day, both Portugal and Holland should be ashamed of themselves. First, Holland came out with the intention of taking Ronaldo out (and I don’t think there’s much question that that was their intent). Had the ref been competent, he would have immediately sent off the Dutch player in the fourth minute for the studs to the thigh, but he didn’t, and the game turned into a completely out of control game of vicious intentional fouls, dives and poor sportsmanship. The ref should have stopped the whole thing and threatened to abandon the match. But since he had no guts whatsoever, there was absolutely no chance that was gonna happen. Even if he had to abandon the match and they wound up having to replay it, would that really have been such a bad thing? Given what we saw, I think not.