By Brooks Peck
Anger, fear and paranoia abound as the blatantly horrible referee mistakes pile up like the massive amounts of cash being generated by the 2010 World Cup. The two most recent incidents - Frank Lampard's disregarded goal against Germany and Carlos Tevez's miles offside opening score against Mexico - were so bad that they go beyond mere errors in judgment and have some considering more sinister puppeteering at work.
And the justification of that is growing. Already resolute in their anti-technology/instant replay stubbornness, FIFA is now trying to ensure there is no evidence against referee rulings inside the stadiums, as there was when Tevez's offside goal was shown on Soccer City's big screens, which caused Mexican players to intensify their protests. From the AP:
FIFA spokesman Nicolas Maingot said Monday that replaying the incident was “a clear mistake.”
“This will be corrected and we will have a closer look into that,” Maingot told a news conference Monday. “We will work on this and be a bit more, I would say, tight on this for the games to be played.”
Maingot said the screens were used to broadcast a FIFA “infotainment program” to fans before the match and could be used to replay some match action.
The only "clear mistake" FIFA admits to is that they shouldn't have allowed people to see the real mistakes. Is it time to grab the torches and pitchforks yet? Not quite. There's more.
As Tom Dunmore at Pitch Invasion points out, the match reports on FIFA's official website recap a much cleaner version of what happened in both of Sunday's matches. On Lampard's goal:
Meetings between these two sides often provide talking points and this one's came 60 seconds later when Lampard's shot from the edge of the box struck the underside of the crossbar and bounced down, with the referee ruling the ball had not crossed the goalline.
It simply bounced down and was ruled as having not crossed the line? That paints a very different picture than what everyone with a television saw. It makes it sound as if it was almost close. And it was only a talking point because the only people who didn't recognize it as a goal were the refs.
On Tevez's first goal:
Tevez might have thought his chance had gone when Perez raced out to block bravely at his feet, but Messi was quick-witted enough to return the ball toward goal, where the Manchester City striker was waiting to head home. Breaking the deadlock enabled Argentina to take a firm grip on proceedings, and within seven minutes that hold was strengthened as Mexico reached for the self-destruct button.
"Waiting to head home" ... in an astoundingly offside position.
Sure FIFA nor any corporate entity wants to highlight their failings on their official website, but FIFA's attempts to hope everyone simply forgets what they saw goes beyond those match reports. According to the AP, they kept their lips locked during the press ravaging that was Sunday's daily briefing, too:
The governing body of world football did not send any officials with responsibility for referees to its daily briefing despite widespread furor over Sunday’s errors.
FIFA spokesman Nicolas Maingot faced hostile questioning but said he was not competent to discuss decisions by referees or football’s rules-making panel, which has rejected introducing video technology that would help match officials.
“We obviously will not open any debate,” Maingot said. “This is obviously not the place for this.”
The debate is already open, Mr. Maingot. It's been released from confinement and it has you surrounded. If the sport's glittering centerpiece of a tournament - the one that this debate threatens to ruin - isn't the place to discuss it and maybe even do something to at least appear as if you care, then where?
But the primary question remains - is it corruption at work or ineptitude compounded by embarrassment? To be honest, it almost has to be the latter. If the fix was in, you'd think they would at least try to be sneaky about it rather than purposefully ignore clear goals and blindly overlook offside infractions that even someone unfamiliar with the rule could spot. That's just stupidity. Then again, this is FIFA and whether it's protecting sponsor against poor street merchants and ladies in orange dresses or doing business through nepotism, subtlety has never been its strong suit.
Source : yahoo sport
Showing posts with label world cup 2010. Show all posts
Showing posts with label world cup 2010. Show all posts
Tuesday, 29 June 2010
Monday, 28 June 2010
World Cup 2010: Arsenal star Robin van Persie thinks that his long injury lay-off will be a blessing in disguise for Holland
By Anthony Sciarrino
Arsenal striker Robin van Persie believes that his long injury absence this season will help him lead Holland to World Cup success.
Van Persie missed five months with a severe ankle injury, returning to the Gunners for only the final matches of the season.
The Arsenal star scored in Holland’s 2-1 victory against Cameroon, a result which made them the first team since the 1982 Brazil squad to win all of their World Cup qualification matches and their first three group games.
Holland will take on Slovakia on Monday in the Round of 16 and van Persie thinks that his long lay-off will help the Dutch in South Africa.
“We’ll have to see in the next couple of weeks whether that’s the case,” van Persie told The Mirror.
“But I feel very, very fresh.
“I know some of the boys have been tired with the travelling and stuff, but I don’t mind waiting around for two hours or staying in a hotel a long time because I’m back with the team.
“Physically and even mentally, there’s more to come. You can be very tired when you start a tournament after playing 60 or 70 games in a season, but I’ve only played 25 and I’m ready physically and mentally.
“I recover quickly after games and the physios are working very hard with me, so it’s looking good.”
Source : goal
Arsenal striker Robin van Persie believes that his long injury absence this season will help him lead Holland to World Cup success.
Van Persie missed five months with a severe ankle injury, returning to the Gunners for only the final matches of the season.
The Arsenal star scored in Holland’s 2-1 victory against Cameroon, a result which made them the first team since the 1982 Brazil squad to win all of their World Cup qualification matches and their first three group games.
Holland will take on Slovakia on Monday in the Round of 16 and van Persie thinks that his long lay-off will help the Dutch in South Africa.
“We’ll have to see in the next couple of weeks whether that’s the case,” van Persie told The Mirror.
“But I feel very, very fresh.
“I know some of the boys have been tired with the travelling and stuff, but I don’t mind waiting around for two hours or staying in a hotel a long time because I’m back with the team.
“Physically and even mentally, there’s more to come. You can be very tired when you start a tournament after playing 60 or 70 games in a season, but I’ve only played 25 and I’m ready physically and mentally.
“I recover quickly after games and the physios are working very hard with me, so it’s looking good.”
Source : goal
Sunday, 27 June 2010
A victory for Africa' as Ghana defeats the US in extra time
by David Smith
Black Stars move a step closer to being first African side in a World Cup semi-final
So it is an African World Cup after all. Ghana's extra-time win over the United States last night brought redemption to a continent that had looked set for an almighty anti-climax on home ground.
"This is a victory for Africa," bellowed one of the triumphant Black Stars moments after the final whistle. The sentiment was echoed in cheers that erupted across South Africa and in the calls of politicians and newspaper editorials for all Africans to rally round their sole flag-bearer.
Despite missing their star player, Chelsea's Michael Essien, through injury, Ghana are now just one win away from becoming the first African side to play a World Cup semi-final. Their run is all the sweeter because Algeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and South Africa fell meekly at the first hurdle.
Soul-searching is already under way, with critics blaming African football officials for appointing short-term foreign coaches and failing to build grassroots structures. Ghana, by contrast, have invested in youth development which paid off when they recently won the under-20s World Cup.
South Africa's governing African National Congress (ANC) last night praised them for ensuring African representation in the last eight. "The ANC would like to thank the Ghana national soccer team [the Black Stars] for salvaging the image of the continent in this tournament," it said.
"We are very confident that having gone this far, you are indeed heading for the 2010 Fifa World Cup finals on our soil. We are very proud of you, as South Africa and as part of the continent of Africa, you are our pride."
There has already been much talk of pride off the field from the ANC and others. Ghana's performance puts the seal on a World Cup increasingly being hailed as one of the most successful ever.
"South Africans are already winners," president Jacob Zuma said last week, seeking solace for the national team's exit. "We won on 15 May 2004 when the announcement was made, declaring us as the hosts. The whole world is looking at us and applauding our success so far as hosts."
South Africa does appear to have proved the doubters wrong, though complacency would still be dangerous. Matches have kicked off on time, stadiums have been (mostly) full, floodlights have stayed on and even the great bogeyman – crime – appears to have retreated in the teeth of a huge police operation and harsh penalties.
Whatever the economic pros and cons, there has also been a surge of patriotism and unity. Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu said: "Over the past few weeks South Africa has experienced an extraordinary revival of its national spirit."
Some believe it is a turning point for all of Africa too. The World Cup has come at a moment when politicians and investors are already arguing that corruption, disease, famine, poverty and war should no longer be hung around the continent's neck. They say its economies are growing, its dictatorships are waning and it has seen no new major wars in the past five years. Hosting the world's biggest sports showpiece is the ultimate symbol of a developing, normalising Africa at ease with itself.
Steve Bloomfield, author of Africa United: How Football Explains Africa, said: "I'd wait until 12 July to completely crow but it's now clear that some of the stories about how bad South Africa was going to be as host were ludicrously over the top.
"The image we have in the west of war, famine and corruption is part of the African story, but only part. The World Cup will help chip away at that image."
As for Ghana's impressive displays, Bloomfield added: "On the field, Africa is down but it's certainly not out."
Source : guardian
Black Stars move a step closer to being first African side in a World Cup semi-final
So it is an African World Cup after all. Ghana's extra-time win over the United States last night brought redemption to a continent that had looked set for an almighty anti-climax on home ground.
"This is a victory for Africa," bellowed one of the triumphant Black Stars moments after the final whistle. The sentiment was echoed in cheers that erupted across South Africa and in the calls of politicians and newspaper editorials for all Africans to rally round their sole flag-bearer.
Despite missing their star player, Chelsea's Michael Essien, through injury, Ghana are now just one win away from becoming the first African side to play a World Cup semi-final. Their run is all the sweeter because Algeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and South Africa fell meekly at the first hurdle.
Soul-searching is already under way, with critics blaming African football officials for appointing short-term foreign coaches and failing to build grassroots structures. Ghana, by contrast, have invested in youth development which paid off when they recently won the under-20s World Cup.
South Africa's governing African National Congress (ANC) last night praised them for ensuring African representation in the last eight. "The ANC would like to thank the Ghana national soccer team [the Black Stars] for salvaging the image of the continent in this tournament," it said.
"We are very confident that having gone this far, you are indeed heading for the 2010 Fifa World Cup finals on our soil. We are very proud of you, as South Africa and as part of the continent of Africa, you are our pride."
There has already been much talk of pride off the field from the ANC and others. Ghana's performance puts the seal on a World Cup increasingly being hailed as one of the most successful ever.
"South Africans are already winners," president Jacob Zuma said last week, seeking solace for the national team's exit. "We won on 15 May 2004 when the announcement was made, declaring us as the hosts. The whole world is looking at us and applauding our success so far as hosts."
South Africa does appear to have proved the doubters wrong, though complacency would still be dangerous. Matches have kicked off on time, stadiums have been (mostly) full, floodlights have stayed on and even the great bogeyman – crime – appears to have retreated in the teeth of a huge police operation and harsh penalties.
Whatever the economic pros and cons, there has also been a surge of patriotism and unity. Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu said: "Over the past few weeks South Africa has experienced an extraordinary revival of its national spirit."
Some believe it is a turning point for all of Africa too. The World Cup has come at a moment when politicians and investors are already arguing that corruption, disease, famine, poverty and war should no longer be hung around the continent's neck. They say its economies are growing, its dictatorships are waning and it has seen no new major wars in the past five years. Hosting the world's biggest sports showpiece is the ultimate symbol of a developing, normalising Africa at ease with itself.
Steve Bloomfield, author of Africa United: How Football Explains Africa, said: "I'd wait until 12 July to completely crow but it's now clear that some of the stories about how bad South Africa was going to be as host were ludicrously over the top.
"The image we have in the west of war, famine and corruption is part of the African story, but only part. The World Cup will help chip away at that image."
As for Ghana's impressive displays, Bloomfield added: "On the field, Africa is down but it's certainly not out."
Source : guardian
Saturday, 26 June 2010
Brazil Vs Portugal World Cup 2010: Brazil leads group, both enter round 2
by Kanishk Matta
Everyone were enthusiastically awaiting Brazil Vs Portugal world cup 2010 match and day was here with massive speculations and brimming hopes of fans, but at the end of the day, no one knew, who would prove its competitive edge. Brazil had been five times FIFA world cup champions, whereas Portugal yet to make its mark. However, throughout FIFA world cup 2010, Portugal has been proving its mettle pretty satisfactorily and again in Brazil Vs Portugal world cup 2010 match, though match was drawn, Portugal has came out favorite for FIFA world cup 2010 competition.
Brazil was playing without star mid fielder Kaka in Brazil Vs Portugal world cup 2010 match, and Portugal was looking
most promising with star attacker Cristiano Ronaldo in the team. At the ground level, Fabio Coentrao was effectively penetrating again and again Brazilian defense to disturb them, however at other end, despite clean passes Ronaldo and Tiago were not able to take advantage.
Meanwhile Brazil in Brazil Vs Portugal world cup match, was not able to get through Portugal defense wall, thanks to Queiroz, who had done most commendable job by churning out powerful defensive equation and striking strategy for Portugal.
It looked somewhat ridiculous in Brazil Vs Portugal world cup match that Yellow card being raised for even unintentional collisions and crashes as knees and elbows seemed to be disturbing the rhythm. Nevertheless, this could not be denied that both the teams before the end of first half were looking for chance to goal but both sides remained unaffected and any space to a silly mistake was never allowed on both side.
In Brazil Vs Portugal world cup match, Ricardo Carvalho found ball passed on time by Nilmar but again Brazil defensive equation was not going to give a slightest chance and Carvalho was prevented just short to goal. Brazil also tried to made difference, when Luis Fabiano just missed a quick header to goal as Dani Alves expertly passed the ball.
Brazil Vs Portugal world cup match rose to high excitement level, when Ronaldo in 50th minute, nicely attempted to sprint forward speedily but Lucio splendidly blocked in time and diverted the ball off from Ronaldo.
Afterwards, with few attempts from both sides, Brazil Vs Portugal world cup 2010 match ended at 0-0 draw. Now both teams have qualified for world cup 2010 last 16, Brazil is winner in Group H and Portugal is first runner up after Cote d’Ivoire.
Source : infocera
Everyone were enthusiastically awaiting Brazil Vs Portugal world cup 2010 match and day was here with massive speculations and brimming hopes of fans, but at the end of the day, no one knew, who would prove its competitive edge. Brazil had been five times FIFA world cup champions, whereas Portugal yet to make its mark. However, throughout FIFA world cup 2010, Portugal has been proving its mettle pretty satisfactorily and again in Brazil Vs Portugal world cup 2010 match, though match was drawn, Portugal has came out favorite for FIFA world cup 2010 competition.
Brazil was playing without star mid fielder Kaka in Brazil Vs Portugal world cup 2010 match, and Portugal was looking
most promising with star attacker Cristiano Ronaldo in the team. At the ground level, Fabio Coentrao was effectively penetrating again and again Brazilian defense to disturb them, however at other end, despite clean passes Ronaldo and Tiago were not able to take advantage.
Meanwhile Brazil in Brazil Vs Portugal world cup match, was not able to get through Portugal defense wall, thanks to Queiroz, who had done most commendable job by churning out powerful defensive equation and striking strategy for Portugal.
It looked somewhat ridiculous in Brazil Vs Portugal world cup match that Yellow card being raised for even unintentional collisions and crashes as knees and elbows seemed to be disturbing the rhythm. Nevertheless, this could not be denied that both the teams before the end of first half were looking for chance to goal but both sides remained unaffected and any space to a silly mistake was never allowed on both side.
In Brazil Vs Portugal world cup match, Ricardo Carvalho found ball passed on time by Nilmar but again Brazil defensive equation was not going to give a slightest chance and Carvalho was prevented just short to goal. Brazil also tried to made difference, when Luis Fabiano just missed a quick header to goal as Dani Alves expertly passed the ball.
Brazil Vs Portugal world cup match rose to high excitement level, when Ronaldo in 50th minute, nicely attempted to sprint forward speedily but Lucio splendidly blocked in time and diverted the ball off from Ronaldo.
Afterwards, with few attempts from both sides, Brazil Vs Portugal world cup 2010 match ended at 0-0 draw. Now both teams have qualified for world cup 2010 last 16, Brazil is winner in Group H and Portugal is first runner up after Cote d’Ivoire.
Source : infocera
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