World Football Thread XX: Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.

[BeBMan]

NZL did well.

[Krill]

Now North Korea have to step up to the plate and beat Portugal! (Or is that too much to hope for?)

Well, it is probably that or death, to be fair.

[Kitschum]

in fairness though that game was tightly contested. i don't anyone who watched it could reasonably say it was a stitch up.

That's true. It was not prearranged to end that way but it seemed to gravitate toward an acceptable result for both teams. The last Swedish equalizer came with about 5 mins to go including ET, and the match suddenly transformed into something resembling Austria-Germany in '82 until the whistle. But up until that point it was a scramble.

IIRC, Jon-Dahl Tomasson (who's clearly past his peak now having missed so many clear chances against Cameroon) scored both Denmark's goals and even shushed the large Swedish fan section after his 2-1. He was playing for Milan at the time and never appeared to have very neighborly feelings toward Sweden. Other Danish players however were smiling and getting along.

[Frozzy]

First truly poor refereeing performance of the tournament IMO. Missed the handball in Brazil's 2nd goal, Cote d'Ivoire should have had a man sent off for the studs up challenge on Elano and that Kaka sending off was farcical.

[Drake Tungsten]

First truly poor refereeing performance of the tournament IMO.

Yes, the "first"...

[Frozzy]

First truly poor refereeing performance of the tournament IMO.

Yes, the "first"...

There have been bad decisions, this is the first bad referee.

At least it's mostly football, and not 90 minutes of overweight zebras throwing handkerchiefs like damsels in distress, having a committee meeting and then deciding 'yes, we're wrong'.

[Drake Tungsten]

There have been bad decisions, this is the first bad referee.

Yes, there were certainly no problems with the referee for US/Slovenia.

[Dauphin]

The problem was he only disallowed one US goal. He should have disallowed the other two as well.

[Kitschum]

He's Mali's best, you racists.

[Drake Tungsten]

The problem was he only disallowed one US goal. He should have disallowed the other two as well.

It would take a great deal of referee interference to render the US as offensively impotent as England.

[The diplomat]

Well, it is probably that or death, to be fair.

After losing to Portugal, 7-0, the whole team should request political asylum at the nearest embassy.

[SpencerH]

It denied the Ghana player the goal and the arm was outstretched... pretty clear cut IMO.

You're right. I found a good explanation by an Aussie head ref

Mark Shield, who was Australia's leading official until he retired in 2008, insisted "you do not see a clearer case of handball on the goalline" after Kewell was dismissed for blocking a Ghanaian shot in the Socceroos' 1-1 draw yesterday.

Shield said there were two crucial factors that dictated both the award of a penalty and Kewell's expulsion after less than half an hour.

"The key fact is the shot was hit from so far away (roughly 10m) it gave Harry the chance to get out of the way - it couldn't be regarded as ball to hand," he said.

"At the last World Cup we were briefed that a ball hit hard from two or three metres away might not be viewed as intentional handball, but Harry was three or four times as far away.

"Not only that but he also makes a small but definite move towards the ball with his arm - for whatever reason, as the ball came to him Harry's arm stayed stiff and that's handball.

"It's so unfortunate that it was Harry Kewell and Australia, but Roberto had no option but to give the penalty and send him off."

According to the rules of the game, Kewell's position on the line meant it was an "obvious goalscoring opportunity" - ensuring he had to be dismissed once Rosetti ruled it a deliberate handball.

That's also why Zdravko Kuzmanovic and Nemanja Vidic only got yellow cards for their handballs in Serbia's two matches - neither situation was a clear goalscoring opportunity.

According to FIFA sources, referees at this World Cup were given specific guidelines to rule on whether a handball was deliberate.

They were told to look for the distance the ball had travelled from being kicked; the speed of the ball; and whether the hand or arm is in "an unnatural position". They also were told to consider the position of the arm relative to the body.

[SpencerH]

Chile became the new leaders in the team diving competion today against Switzerland. A strong effort to "go to ground" manifested by virtually every Chilean player, whether touched by the rather brutish Swiss players or not, catapulted them into the lead today. Perennial team and individual favorites Holland, Italy, and Portugal, although strangely upstanding in the tournament so far, remain strong contenders.

The individual diving competion is currently led by the the Ivory Coast's Kader Keita for his magnificent "full facial" against Brazil. Second and third places are held respectively by Arturo Vidal for his workmanlike "partial facial with a full roll" against Switzerland and by Daniele De Rossi for his swan like "pole ax" performance in the penalty box against the dramatically-challenged Kiwis.

[duke o' york]

After losing to Portugal, 7-0, the whole team should request political asylum at the nearest embassy.

Oh Dear Leader.

I'm sure that there will still be people moaning about how football is boring, despite the fact we've had a gripping and brilliant come-back from the US, the underdogs coming into their own, some wonderful defensive performances for those aficianados who appreciate them, and a complete hammering by seven goals. So who's still grumbling?

[Dauphin]

The problem was he only disallowed one US goal. He should have disallowed the other two as well.

It would take a great deal of referee interference to render the US as offensively impotent as England.

It's an embarassment that you couldn't beat England. :sad: