Refs Receiving Too Much World Cup Attention

After another day where the referees stole he spotlight from the World Cup, many are screaming for some changes to be made.

Yes, the disallowed US goal is firmly implanted in the minds of all Americans. The second yellow card issued to Brazilian star Kaka' was as much a blown call, too. There have been others. FIFA has stated they like a little controversy, but this is one they cannot avoid any longer.

Look, I give these referees a lot of credit. There's is so much that goes on during a match, it's impossible to keep up with all the action. Players and team managers continually request why certain calls are made. Sometimes, they get a response from the match referee. Clint Dempsey had a pertinent statement after that match that should ring in all of our heads. Pay particular attention to the second half of his statement.

"To be fair, I think we should have won the game. That last goal, I don't know what the call was on that. ... No idea [what the foul was]. I have no idea. The ref didn't say nothing all game ... That's something you'll have to ask the ref. If there's any way you can figure that out, I'd like to know. That would be a good question."

What we all need to learn here is that FIFA's referees aren't required to answer any question at any time to any individual including players and coaches. That would be why the US has yet to receive any type of confirmation as to why Edu's goal was disallowed. The referees are required to issue a report immediately after a match is finished. Nothing more. No answers except for that report. Each match has an individual assigned to it to rate the referee and his assistants. These reports are usually kept in-house and not leaked to the public.

If you really think about this in a "bigger picture" kind of view, FIFA must also feel it answers to no one. It aids and abets the referees by enveloping them in a cloud of mystery. In essence, it appears that there is very little accountability here. If you have no one to answer to, who's going to see that your job is performed properly?

Considering the way officiating has transpired at this World Cup, I'm not surprised FIFA will publicly make a statement tomorrow. They have no choice. Fans around the globe has viewed the referees and their transgressions.

Blatter

My suspicions are that Koman Coulibaly, the referee from the US-Slovenia match, will not be involved in any further World Cup matches. I wouldn't be surprised if the Kaka' issue rears its ugly head or other highly questionable decisions are addressed as well. In this day and age of all the different forms of coverage available, there have been ramblings about finding a way to institute instant replay. FIFA has been adamant about such a move and I agree. Maybe, and I'm saying maybe, having a second referee on the field is the answer. Who knows. I'm hopeful that FIFA president Sepp Blatter and his team can devise such a method.

I will continue to watch soccer, or football, or futbol, however you prefer its spelling and/or reference based on the fact that I am a sports fan, not a referee fan. We cheer the players. I will continue to watch Landon Donovan roof shots. I will continue to watch Cristiano Ronaldo dive. I will continue to watch Lionel Messi display unfathomable goals. I will continue to watch Didier Drogba infuriate defenders. I will continue to watch (and sometimes listen to) Wayne Rooney use foul language.

There's no clear cut way to solve the issue of poor officiating. Just like players, refs have an off-day, too.

But doing it on this grand of a stage...

World Cup and Thierry Henry

In all other countries, it's called football. We in America call it soccer. Either way, and despite what some may think about its "lack of appeal", it is the world's most attended sport.

With the draw for the 2010 World Cup less than a day away, a couple of issues that I find very intriguing have transpired.

The first is the issue of French striker Thierry Henry and the other is how the seeds for the eight groups were determined. France might be getting a bad rep and a bad rap.

FIFA's Disciplinary Committee has apparently opened an investigation regarding Henry and his infamous handball incident in a mtach against Ireland.



Henry's play resulted in France scoring the game winning goal and knocking out Ireland. Irelans appealed to FIFA for a rematch. It was denied. Ireland requested to still be included as a 33rd eam. It was also denied.

FIFA's President, Sepp Blatter, acknowledged the investigation.

"The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has opened a case with regard to the behaviour of the French footballer Thierry Henry, and as a result will carry out an investigation as to what happened in that game. I don't know what the outcome of that will be given that it is an issue for the Disciplinary Committee and not the Executive Committee. We should let them get on with their job."

On soccerblog.com, Shourin Roy sheds a diferent light on Henry as a competitor. The picture is the most pleasant. But I do ask a few questions: Is it right to ban Henry for a match due to his "cheating" and past history? Why is FIFA just now moving forward with the "investigation"? Why wasn't one initiated when the incident of the handball occurred?

You could look at the potential changes in officiating, nd Blatter was asked about the possibility of having additional officials and/or the introduction of replay.

"We spoke about what to do with refereeing in future. It's clear that the main match official and his assistants cannot see everything that happens on the field of play. So, is it better to have more match officials or open the door to technology? We will have to evaluate this, though we did take one decision: even if the experiment with two additional match officials in the [UEFA] Europa League continues through to the latter stages (of the competition), there won't be any changes for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. We will continue to use one main match official, two assistants and a fourth official. There's no discussion on this, (the finals) are too soon for us to evaluate other possibilities."

I'll buy that. You would need additional equipment. You would need to have the adequate personnel to work such equipment. You would need to have the equipment positioned correctly in order to monitor the match.

But I feel that France is being equally punished for Henry's play.
Usually, the top eight seeds are detemined by FIFA's November rankings. This time, the October rankings were used. If the November rankings were used, France would have been one of the eight #1 seeds as France was ranked 7th in the world. The top 7 plus the host country get the eight #1 seeds. With the October ranking being used, France missed out as they were ranked 9th.

Why am I whispering "conspiracy" here? Have the rules been changed due to one event of one individual? It sure seems that way.

Politics strike again?

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