Updated throughout the day with quick takes from staff.
FIFA would like to clarify: human error is part of officiating, and they're comfortable with that. What they're not comfortable with is you showing footage that highlights that error in detail during the match.
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."
This refers to the stadium screens showing just how offsides Carlos Tevez was when he scored the opening goal in the Argentina/ Mexico match, but it could just as well describe the cancerous officiating and FIFA's approach to fixing some of the more obvious gaffes made by referees in this Cup.
Koman Coulibaly disallowed a crucial goal for the US, Jorge Larrionda blew a clear goal call for England against Germany, and Argentina received a freebie thanks to the afrorementioned offsides call: all true, yes. FIFA does not deny that these are mistakes and potentially harmful dark spots on an MRI of the sport. The real problem, though, is that you went to the doctor in the first place, and insisted on seeing the problem.
The world's most popular sport is run by the same logic you use when turning up the radio to blot out ominous noises in your car engine. So you and FIFA have that in common, and never mind the frightening knocking noises the sport makes every time they go over 45 miles per hour.
12 comments
Comments
I like that logic
-Big Brother
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains
by Chekhov's Spread Gun Option on Jun 28, 2010 3:57 PM EDT reply actions
the next step
Ban TV coverage. All it does is allow people to see their terrible officiating via TV replays or rewinding a bit on their DVR.
All future FIFA sanctioned matches will be broadcast via telegraph.
Bill Polian has forgotten more about football than you ever have or ever will know.
by jdb on Jun 28, 2010 4:24 PM EDT reply actions
Minor League
How can anyone take this sport seriously when it is run by a bunch of idiots stuck in the 18th century?
This crap can’t be over soon enough.
by robyn k on Jun 28, 2010 4:36 PM EDT reply actions
I love soccer
but after watching this cup, its no wonder America (and I think the world soon after) will see how much of a joke FIFA is. They rule with an iron fist and would rather have the sport stay in its archaic form, while deciding the teams fate instead of the players.
What a joke.
Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination.-Oscar Wilde
by TricksterG on Jun 28, 2010 4:54 PM EDT reply actions
I love how they come out, just to say something like, yes, instead of not allowing future instances to occur, we are just not going to show you anything wrong with this sport. If there’s a bad call, we won’t show it, and it won’t exist. Okay?
For the millions and millions watching at home….. um, SCREW YOU, you can’t do a damn thing about it.
by Vancouverguy on Jun 28, 2010 5:24 PM EDT reply actions
In other news, FIFA spokesperson Dorothy Gale reports:
“There’s no place like home.”
by HoodRiverDuck on Jun 28, 2010 5:34 PM EDT reply actions
Spencer, you're my only hope
Spencer, I’m trying, I really am. PLEASE explain how—given that FIFA is firmly committed to an officiating regime of (at best) referee-ing to third-world conditions or (at worst) a corrupt system of match-fixing and point-shaving in a sport that doesn’t have enough points to shave—I can continue to give a shit about what happens on the pitch. This is a good faith question, not a soccer-is-for-pussies rant. How do you do it? What works for you? How do you abide both the Cristiano Ronaldos and the blatant and unrepentant shittiness of the officials? Can we really not afford a second official? Is that part of the grand “tradition” of football, along with vaguely gross child hand-holding and swapping of jerseys. Talk about economizing, how much in jerseys have Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana, RSA, etc. given away? Please, help me care.
by Julie in Texas on Jun 28, 2010 6:08 PM EDT reply actions
Alexi Lalas is a homer
ALexi Lalas is the worst thing about the World Cup. Someone needs to muzzle that guy. He’s killing the coverage. Great article on Sotospeaks.com You guys should check it out. http://sotospeaks.com/2010/06/28/alexi-lalas-scum-across-the-pond/
by jeffyjoe44 on Jun 28, 2010 7:52 PM EDT reply actions
Not that I don't agree that he made a pretty big mess of the Galaxy as a GM
but everything he has said has been spot on. Not sure what you are disagreeing with, him being right so much?
by Cool Dudes on Jun 29, 2010 2:00 AM EDT up reply actions
Worse than NBA refs.
Lifelong Arizona Cardinals/Chicago Bears fan [I have always lived in Arizona, dad is from Chicago].
I can't stand fair-weather/bandwagon fans, stick with your team, throughout the good and the bad. And don't switch to whichever team wins the Super Bowl each year.
by JoeCB1991 on Jun 28, 2010 8:48 PM EDT reply actions
As stupid as not being able to correctly tell if the ball went across the line is
Penalty kicks are still dumber.
There are a lot of stupid things that FIFA is slow to fix, but ultimately will be, because they are common sense. Why doesn’t MLS take the lead in experimenting with rules changes. MLS can be like FIFA’s rules lab and nobody in the US will give a shit.
E.g., I would love to see that once the ball is in the box, there is no such thing as offsides as long as the ball enters first. Who fucking cares if they guy is next to the goal if the goalie is going way off his line. Its a stupid fucking rule that makes no sense anyway. That goal should count, not because he wasn’t offsides, because why not? They should experiment with something like in the NHL where you can not have a two line pass and not be able to enter the zone until the ball has. It would be much easier to officiate and not constantly stop fast breaks and make the game boring. The whole “offsides trap” is stupid because 1. Its stupid and 2. Its dependent on the linesman (who is stupid) making the correct call 3. It allows poor defense-men make up lack of speed and skill for trickery.
by Cool Dudes on Jun 29, 2010 1:47 AM EDT reply actions
Just add 5th official. Easy
So they have the center ref. 2 linesman. AND finally, the important #4 ref. The ref in charge of substitutes. Wow. You think that they could have an instant replay ref? They have a ref exclusively in charge of a maximum of 6 substitutions a game and they can’t have a ref in the booth whose job is to evaluate scores that result in goals or goals taken away? That seems like a no brainer. Someone in the booth just watching the replay of goals in the 10 minutes that teams are celebrating. You’d think they could send a signal down to the extremely busy 4th ref who could then let the center ref know that the goal should or shouldn’t have counted.
But that is the American way. And it seems that FIFA is only for ideas that are non-American. We should have Obama join the FIFA. No doubt his anti-american ideals would take hold and we could finally see some change we can believe in at least somewhere.
Funny that 4 horrible calls against the U.S. didn’t get people talking, and all it took was one bad call against England to get the world really upset. If something like this had happened to Brazil, there would be a violent threat against FIFA.
by jim2 on Jun 29, 2010 10:56 AM EDT reply actions
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