Originally posted by PalynkaYeah I was wondering where the hacking came in. As for the headbutt, this sort of thing really riles me. Figo connected his head with the Dutch guy, and the slimey dishonorouble scumbag dutch dude went down like he'd been shot. The ref needed the common sense to realise that there was absolutely no way Figo's headbutt was harmful - a yellow for that is a bad decision IMO. Are we men or mice?
Because of the head-butting, not because he hacked since he didn't.
Originally posted by ElleEffSeeeIt's definitely a yellow and I wouldn't contest it if he gave him a red card either.
Yeah I was wondering where the hacking came in. As for the headbutt, this sort of thing really riles me. Figo connected his head with the Dutch guy, and the slimey dishonorouble scumbag dutch dude went down like he'd been shot. The ref needed the common sense to realise that there was absolutely no way Figo's headbutt was harmful - a yellow for that is a bad decision IMO. Are we men or mice?
If he was to be strict and give him the red, a yellow should also be in order for acting for the Dutch guy.
I don't blame the ref, both teams were disgraceful. I still think the Dutch had even less fair-play, but I recognize that I may be biased.
Originally posted by Dr StrangeloveHave you ever seen a real head-butting?
Apparently the ref didn't send Figo off because under rule # blah blah less than 9 players blah blah of fifa rules the game would have been forfeited by Portugal.
How true this is I couldn't say but the ref should never have let him get away with a head-butting.
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I was going to start a thread like this but SQ beat me to it. I don't like second guessing officials in any sport and I certainly don't know enough about soccer to second guess World Cup officials. However, after either watching or listening to all the WC games so far, it seems to me that soccer is a sport where it is way too easy for officials to decide the momentum and possible outcome of a game. The players are supposed to be the best in the world. They're all reasonably young, healthy, macho men. I keep saying to myself. "Get the f-ing officials out of the way and let them play!" It's soccer. Nobody is going to get killed. Let them play the freaking game!
Originally posted by DelmerI don't agree with ref whiners. Most of the times the refs make mistakes for both sides and the losing side complains a lot while the winning side doesn't care that much about the mistakes done against them.
I was going to start a thread like this but SQ beat me to it. I don't like second guessing officials in any sport and I certainly don't know enough about soccer to second guess World Cup officials. However, after either watching or listening to all the WC games so far, it seems to me that soccer is a sport where it is way too easy for officials to decide the ...[text shortened]... t them play!" It's soccer. Nobody is going to get killed. Let them play the freaking game!
Yes, they can influence, but the extent to which this is true is over-hyped.
I just saw a replay of that head butt.
What a laugh! I'm all for allowing rough tackles and such but there was no play - just walked up and butted him.
Still, it was not a real head butt but the Dutch guy milked it.
I would have sent Figo off and given the Dutch guy a yellow card and a slap in the face.
Seems silly that the penalty for time-wasting like the England goal keeper is the same as a forehead in the face.
Originally posted by sasquatch672Well, the best man on the field in the first half of Switzerland-Ukraine was the ref. Not a single card in fourty-five minutes of play, if I'm not mistaken. That's unseen on this Worl Cup. He's probably a good ref, but I guess there have been instructions to be a bit less enthousiast with the cards.
Seems that Sepp Blatter's weighed in on Russian referee Ivanov, saying "he should have received a yellow card". I've never seen anything like what I saw yesterday. Sixteen yellows, four reds, should have been a fifth for Figo. (In fine soccer tradition, Figo is now certain to score the game winner against England on Saturday. Anybody remember Koeman ...[text shortened]... atch led to legitimate yellow cards being rendered meaningless. What do you all say?
From my very untrained point of view, refereeing has been a major issue at every tournament, and every tournament has had weird refereeing, especially in the early rounds. I don't know if this is correct, but every tournament there seems to be certain kinds of fouls that are heavily punished. This year, it has been tackles from behind, with even the lightest of tackles being punished by yellow cards.
The funny thing is, a referee that pulls a lot of cards seldom has good control over the game. The referee in the Holland game yesterday is a good example, the ref from Australia-Croatia another one. I really pitied that last one at the end of the game, he didn't have any control anymore. I agree that using yellow cards to punish a certain kind of foul, however lightly they are commited, makes yellow card useless. It's qiute a severe punishment, the crowd doesn't get it and gets angry, the players too and the play is shut down so often it completely ruins the tempo of the game. Moreover, the 'foul of the tournament' quickly becomes the foul player overreact on, knowing it'll result in a yellow card.
I don't know about Figo deserving a red card. It wouldn't be exceptional to give a red card for that movement, especially considering Van Bommels reaction. Belgian player Staelens got Kluivert a red card by falling to the ground grasping his face after Kluivert reacted to an insult with an elbow push to his chest. But I think the yellow card Figo got yesterday is a more fair punishment.
I don't know if the refereeing has such a big impact on the outcome of most games though. Most games with disputed refereeing I saw was equally bad for both teams. And the fuzzy refereeing is all part of the game, after all. While I wouldn't mind using some technology for some actions (such as a sensor which tells whether a ball crossed the line), I hope they'll never use video footage to decide on certain unclear actions. I kinda like the referee being a decidedly human factor.
David