I thought this should have its own thread so we don't continue to destroy the game thread... The refs are ruining this World Cup. ________ Blatter criticizes performance of Ivanov FIFA president Sepp Blatter criticized Valentin Ivanov's handling of Portugal's 1-0 second-round win over the Netherlands, when the Russian referee handed out a record-tying 16 yellow cards and an unprecedented four reds. In a frank assessment to a Portuguese TV station, Blatter said Ivanov was not up to the level of the players. "I think there could have been a yellow card for the referee," Blatter said. There were 23 red and 291 yellow cards handed out in the first 52 matches at Germany 2006, surpassing marks in any previous World Cup. And there's still 12 matches remaining. Siegler refused to expand on Blatter's stinging criticism of Ivanov's performance, saying -- in German -- "you might have seen the FIFA president made a comment. There is nothing more to add." Ivanov set the tone with some early cautions for incidents that would have been overlooked in most league competitions. The FIFA referees committee will meet Wednesday to decide which officials stay after the second round. Already they're likely to be without experienced English referee Graham Poll, who issued three yellow cards to the same Croatia player -- two yellow cards should immediately be followed by a red. That technical error could have resulted in a first-round match with Australia being replayed. Markus Merk, an early favorite to handle the final if host Germany does not make it, also dented his chances with a highly criticized performance in the Brazil-Australia first-round match. Ivanov's chances of more appointments appear remote. Responding to questions about referees adhering to instructions from FIFA and not being allowed enough discretion, Siegler reiterated earlier comments. "It's not about instructions being given," he said. "They're reiterated because this is the biggest platform to show the consistent application of the laws of the game." full article
I don't know where these refs are getting trained and getting their licenses but the best refs are the ones who verbally warn players FIRST for the minor offenses that they have been giving reds and yellows for.
The problem is, the refs were told before the World Cup to give yellow cards instead of talking, and that if they didn't give enough yellows they'd be sent hom early.
You know the officiating was horrible when Blatter, who has been basically praising all the refs and their decisions to give premature yellows, criticizes the ref...
The refs are not really good, however there have been a lot of mistakes in other WC's. like the hand of god of maradona, and south korea 2 years ago. One thing i do not like is the way blatter acts, he is partly responsible for having those refrs here(if i'm not mistaken), so it is easy to blame the refs, and not look at the selections he himself made. I do not understand why they do not just take the best refs in the world, instead of a lot of refs who are just not good.
The refs have been god aweful this WC. The worst games I've seen so far have been the USA and Italy game, and the Dutch and Port game. Those were some of the worst referring I've ever seen. And I've watched a lot of soccer.
I've been pleased with the refereeing thus far. Every team I've been rooting for has got their way. Hope I dont push my luck too far. Go France!
the refs are terrible, ok ... but the field is much too large for only one referee ... and the fifa refuse to use video ... with more refs per game and the video (only for allow or disallow goals, or review tough decisions like the penalty for the italians yesterday) it should be better, but blatter is an too old and dont want to change anything ...
Last time I was watching football it wasn't the FINA world championships for diving. That Italian on replay blatantly dove and should have been sent off in that match against the Aussies. Karma is going to bite the Azzuris when they meet a superior team in Spain in the semis. The inconsistent refereeing throughout the World Cup has the feel of a Lakers/Sacto play-off game. The glamour teams get all the calls.
Agreed. I don't know anything about soccer but I could easily see the match was poorly officiated and the Italians definately got an advantage. As a sportsfan who was trying to give soccer a chance, it left a sour taste in my mouth. At this point, I'm less interested in watching future matches. At least poorly officaiated NBA games still has a lot of action and teams have a chance to overcome bad calls. But in soccer, one or two bad calls change the entire outcome of a game. Vs. Italy, two US players got ejected and no team has ever scored a goal with only 9 players ...evidently. Those ejections seems trivial compared to the one Italian ejection where the US player had a bloody face. Vs. Ghana, a call that could have gone either way or been a no-call resulted in a penatly kick 3 inches from the goal. The US lost the match on that penalty kick.
Few officials have managed to differentiate between legitimate pauses and deliberate attempts to halt play. And in a bid to stop diving, blatant penalties have been ignored. The game's governing body cannot escape blame. There has long been the suspicion that too many footballers do not know the rules. Players have complained that referees do not understand football. The more pertinent question is, does FIFA understand football? _______ Card-sharp refs spoiling the spectacle ... Hark back to the initial days of the World Cup and controversies were comparatively rare. The contrast with a Champions League final marred by poor decision-making seemed apparent. But hopes it would herald an era of improved officiating have disappeared. Instead, with every game, the controversy mounts. There was Poll's horror show - the Englishman also contrived to miss two clear-cut penalties - and Markus Merk's remarkable award of a spot kick to Ghana against the USA. There are a host of incorrect red cards - those shown to van Bronckhorst, Sweden's Teddy Lucic, the Australian Brett Emerton, Mexico's Luis Perez and Ukraine's Vladimir Vashchuk among them - and several other dubious dismissals. Crucial errors are becoming commonplace. Comparatively little attention, outside Latin America, has been paid to the officiating of Massimo Busacca in the meeting of Argentina and Mexico. It produced a footballing classic and a winner to linger in the memory for years, yet it was marred by three serious mistakes. Firstly, Argentina's Gabriel Heinze was clearly the last defender when he hacked down Jose Fonseca, but was only shown the yellow card. Then Mexico's Jose Castro was cautioned for a foul committed by his team-mate Gerardo Torrado, who was later booked himself, meaning he could have been dismissed. ... And on the pitch, referees could receive more assistance. What, for example, does a fifth official do? He certainly doesn't seem to make the first four any better. Instead, he could become the TV official, using replays to help the man on the pitch adjudicate correctly. But compare football with most other sports and the mistrust of technology seems positively anachronistic, if not wilfully stupid. full link
I think the referees are not perfect but the ones at the WC are actually doing very well. You pointed out some mistakes but you didn't acknowledge the correct calls that were made. The referees might have handed out more yellow or red cards than years past but they were instructed to do so and the teams have been warned. Their actions have actually cleaned up the game a lot. In the past you've seen defenders repeatedly fouled a dribbler to stop attacks. You don't see it much now. The game has not been ruined. If anything, it has improved. The ABC/ EPSN announcers are often wrong in their analysis of the calls even after watching TV's replay. I dare anyone of them to pick up a whistle and try to do the job themselves. Check out this referee's forum for more discussions: http://www.officialsports.co.uk/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=forum;f=15
Mav fans would disagree with you. I rooted for the Heat b/c of ZO and Wade but that call in Game 5 that resulted in the game winning free throw was a phantom call. That one call changed the game and probably the outcome of the series. In all fairness, the U.S.A. purely sucked in this WC and should be embarassed by they display. Yeah the refs weren't great in their matches, but even if the refs were perfect, they were simply outplayed in 2 of the 3 matches (Czech and Ghana). This is the worse the officiating has been (of the WC's I've seen since Italia '90) and FIFA has acknowledged it so hopefully they will review everything and fix it.
