We Wuz Robbed

A few comments:

First, this world cup is general has been tightly officiated (just over 5 yellows per match), but it should be noted that this match was no uglier than any previous match in Germany (save the Italian elbow). That being said there is no way to justify distributing 3 red cards. Under no circumstances would Pope’s second yellow have merited a stand-alone card in any other match during this World Cup. Plain and simple, the referee lost control of the match and punished the United States because of it. It is no coincidence that three reds were shown in this match and I am confident upon further review Larrionda will be relieved of anymore duties in the World Cup. I am most disappointed that the referee was so stanchly defended by so many individuals in this blog as any fan of soccer can clearly see that the route that Larrionda took with this match was clearly not good for this game or the game of soccer in general.

“The bottom line is if you would have had another referee call the match the calls would have been entirely different. If we are going to hold the US-Italy strictly to the rulebook, then guess what ? We need to replay all the other games which had been played up to yesterdays match.”

Thank you! Some people refuse to accept that one match in a tournament cannot exist in a vacuum!

Posted from  United States

In reply to Sam’s categorisation of the postings in this blog, I must hasten to point out that there is a third category of people: Those who don’t believe the referee made the proper “by the book” ruling on each infraction.

The foul committed by Mastroeni was foul - without question. Was it a red-card offense? Absolutely not. His studs were not up, the tackle was not two-footed and it was not high on the leg. He went for the ball, mistimed his challenge and committed a foul. A yellow card would have been the legitimate punishment.

Furthermore, both of Eddie Pope’s yellow cards were incorrect decisions. The “foul” for which he was sent off was not a foul. It was an expertly timed, deftly executed challenge. He won the ball, pulled his leg back without kicking Gilardino and most importantly, he did NOT carry on his challenge by swiping the Italian’s legs.

Whether or not the challenge was from behind is 100% immaterial - he took the ball cleanly and did not foul the man. You cannot give someone a yellow card for not committing a foul.

As for Rob Hughes’ “well written article” I must question whether he actually saw the match, or whether he is being encouraged by his editors (themselves under pressure from FIFA) to support the officials in this World Cup at any cost.

Posted from  Malaysia

I will just say that as a casual soccer fan who has watched over 75% of games in the World Cup this year, I have a few things to offer:

1) The USA-Italy game was the most inconsistent refereeing of the entire tournament to date. The Assistant Referees were consistent in their strange offside/not offside calls, but the referee on the pitch was a major impact in the game. I do not remember Pope’s yellow in the first half, but the one in the second half was well deserved. The obvious red card by Italy was just that. Malicious elbows to the face of an opponent are an automatic ejection in every sport I have ever played. He lost control of the game before trying to REgain it…a referee should always have control.

3) Mastroeni’s tackle that earned him a red card seemed to me to have occured multiple times in the game. Like I said, I am a casual observer of soccer, and one of the reasons is the refereeing. Having watched 75% or so of the games, I still do not know what slide tackles are to be called yellow cards and red cards because of inconsistencies across the board of refereeing. It sounds like FIFA tried to crack down on this by pinpointing 2-3 things before the tournament even began, but those things even (i.e. - tackling from behind) are not called consistently a red or yellow or simply a foul. I’m just still very confused by it all because “cut and dry” examples are not made “cut and dry” when they are called differently match to match…much less half to half.

Ben

Posted from  United States

I also have a question:

If you had a 2 man break against the goaltender and the guy in front has the ball. If he passes to his teammate behind him, who one-touches it into the goal…is it offsides because his teammate is ahead of him?

Thanks for answering.

Ben

Posted from  United States

Go to http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/w/schedule.html

and click on the video of the USA-Germany game. A friend just found this link for me…on Mastroeni’s tackle, his bottom foot was along the grass and his top foot was angled toward the ground. What’s the rule on that call as stated?

They do not have a clear video of Pope’s second yellow because he is sliding off screen when he makes contact with the Italian player…yes, there was contact.

They also do not show Beasley’s “goal” at all.

Ben

Posted from  United States

It’s amazing to me how many Americans are defending this referee, Jorge Larrionda, seriously. The guy was absolutely incompetent! I would say the same thing if it was Iran vs. Angola. I can understand other counries’ opinion being this because there is this very popular love to hate USA attitude. Don’t let anybody fool you, folks, this lopsided and badly called game was about politics, plain and simple.

I don’t know what personal axe Larrionda has to grind with USA, but I assure you, there’s something there. Let me tell you something, I’m American and I love my country, but I don’t agree with being in Iraq, and I sure as hell didn’t vote for Bush - either time. It’s not a question of patriotics. It’s a question of fair and even play. I think discretion is the perfect word. You know, I wouldn’t hesitate to say when a referee calls a bad basketball game, or football, or baseball game here in the USA - and it happens all the time! Bad reffing is bad reffing, whether you’re in international play or at home.

This guy not only gave an unbelievably quick red card to a guy that deserved a yellow card at best, it seemed as though he was itching to have a reason to pull it out. It wasn’t Mastroeni’s tackle, that red card would have come out on ANY American player’s next tackle. Eddie Pope’s card I can deal with because it was a second yellow. But, if that first card is called what it should have been, we have that advantage for a longer period of time, and we could have scored. When a ref’s calls decide the outcome of a game instead of the play, that is BAD reffing! That had to be one of the most boring soccer matches I’ve seen, because of the ref. The problem I had with Pope’s is, why was the red taken out so fast? Seriously, folks, you cannot hide that, look at the replays. To me, you would have to be watching a different game to not notice.

AND, they were tackles by the Italian players that were just as rough, but weren’t even called as yellow. In case anybody’s forgetting, the Italians are FAMOUS for being DIRTY and rough! So pardon me if I don’t shed a tear for them. And actually, I think the American commentators were nicer than they should have been about the game. You think Italian commentators don’t complain when they lose a match that had a bad call go against them? Seriously, what exactly are American commentators supposed to report about a game where 2 of it’s own players were ejected, which led to a lackluster game and open field for most of the second half? I have to say, when it comes to being objective, I find American commentators to be about as impartial as you can get.

I think Larrionda’s history is completely fair game. And a little sidenote about tackling in soccer in general, hey, this is a contact sport, it’s a big boy sport on a HUGE stage. If you can’t handle the heat, don’t stand so close to the fire. This is why soccer isn’t respected in America! Because McBride gets up with blood trickling from his face and walks off the field on his own. Everytime an Italian player got touched, they acted like they were going to die. Bring the stretcher out, I can’t walk! Meanwhile, the guy pops up off the thing the minute he gets to the sideline. The histrionics in this game are ridiculous. In no other sport, is there so much work to get an advantage over your opponent without actually PLAYING THE GAME! And I say this as a soccer fan, somebody who grew up playing and loving the game.

I think a lot of these comments come from the standpoint that we were evenly matched. Let me remind everybody who is reading this, despite our #5 ranking (we didn’t rank us) and Italy’s #13 ranking, we were the clear underdog in this game. I don’t care if this was the weakest Italian team in years, Italy is a STORIED team in the history of the World Cup. So, tell me, why does everybody keep treating the USA (including AMERICANS) as these dirty playing dangerous bullies who are being petty about huge calls? Oh, that’s right, we haven’t “earned” the right to bitch about teams that have always been better than us in soccer. We were the clear underdogs, and we always have been. And the point is, we’ve lost SEVERAL matches at the World Cup over the years. How many have we been in an uproar about? Maybe ONE, in ‘94, when the World Cup took place here. People are acting like we ALWAYS bitch. Let me tell you folks, we are FAR from having the corner market on bitching and moaning on an international level. Just look at the Olympics…need I say more? We’ve been beat fair and square several times, and taken it without complaining. So maybe, you might take that into consideration when millions of Americans have a problem with last Saturday’s poorly called game in Germany. No sport can be decided more by the referee than in the game of soccer. Let me repeat that. No game is more affected by the calls of a ref than in soccer. This “card” system is plain stupid, and just increases frustration and boredom of the game. Hockey got that one right, at least. Power plays are smart, playing 11 vs. 10 for the whole rest of a match is just stupid.

Oh, and by the way, I don’t consider not being invited to ref the 2002 World Cup games because of “irregularities” and the fact that he called 4 yellow cards and gave Turkey a penalty kick against us in 2003 “inconsequential” or “impartial”. This guy has a history of gunning for us. His JOB is to call games impartially. Irregularities are just that, not being impartial! Would you say a doctor who amputated the wrong leg should be hired at another hospital after being let go because it was inconsequential to his abilities as a doctor?

I am passionate about my sports, I love sports, and believe it or not, I can take a loss if a team was far superior to us. But last Saturday, we were the far better team, and we should have won that game - and would have with anybody but Larrionda reffing.

Finally, this World Cup’s slogan is “a time to make friends”, but what it should be is, “A time to solidify enemies”. Between the neo-Nazi activity and all the yellow and red cards, along with the complaints (not just by us), Togo’s attempt to boycott a game, this World Cup has proven that FIFA can’t keep politics, religion, race, and nationality out of the World Cup. I think, we, as collective soccer fans can do better than that. I do, however passionate I am about it, appreciate everybody else’s points of view and it is nice to have a spirited discussion about interpretation of the rules of soccer. I guess we can, most of us, agree to disagree.

Posted from  United States

Jesus Len, settle down!

Whatever anti-Americanism exists in the world doesn’t extend to the US soccer team. I think we’d all like to see them do well. I spent the entire game barracking for the US, and even I thought the red cards were justified.

Posted from  Australia

I agree with Tom.
For me USA did very well, so does the referee.
And in my opinion every non-italian was supporting USA as they were underdog.

Posted from  France

I didn’t read all the comments, but I largely disagree with Trent. I’m a huge fanatic of football and I believe red cards are fundamental to the game.

A yellow card is a clear message that a player is not playing football. He has the intent of harming his colleague and deserves to be sent off in case he do that twice.

The red card is more important than the yellow one. When it is well applied, like in the US match, it means that you have a criminal on your team. After a tackle like that you can end one’s career!!! Red card is a very soft penalty to a move like that. Jail would be better than a red card.

Football is not about violence, is about skill and talent. The US team must grow, but it depends of the good will of the fans and TV coverage. Is it happening or not?

Larrionda (sp?) has done one other game this world cup and, believe it or not, there were actually 12 more fouls called in that game. There were also 5 yellows and zero reds given in that game.

Just some stats for everyone. Don’t know how or if that even compares to the US game really. Just through I’d throw them out there.

Posted from  United States

Ben,

The short answer to your question is no, there is no infringement of the offside rule. Why you may wonder? Check out Law 11 at http://www.fifa.com/en/laws/Laws11_01.htm

Posted from  United States

Travis,

I wonder because that is almost what happened on Beasley’s “goal,” in terms of the other player having zero involvement in the play.

That is just my opinion.

Ben

Posted from  United States

Ben,

The two situations are quite different.

In your example, both guys were onside when the ball was passed back, so the first part is irrelevant. What’s relevant is whether or not the first guy was interfereing with play when the second guy tapped in the ball. In your description it sounds like he wasn’t, so no offside.

In the example in the cup, however, McBride was clearly offside. This is because of two of the bulleted points in the link Travis provided: McBride was interfereing with play, by blocking the sight of the goalkeeper, and he was gaining an advantage by doing so. The rule is stated like this:

“Interfering with an opponent means preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent’s line of vision or movements or making a gesture or movement which, in the opinion of the referee, deceives or distracts an opponent.”

If I remember right, McBride let the ball go through his legs, so there was really no question of whether or not he was interferring with play.

The officiating in this, as in the last, has been terrible. You can complain about the disallowed US goal all you like but the fact is the player offside was obstructing the goaltender’s ability to clearly see the ball. However, Italy was called offside several times when they weren’t offside, not even close. Not only did these offsides cost Italy great chances, including several one on one chances but also a goal. If you remember, Gattuso scored a goal minutes after coming into the game but the player who pased the ball bacl to him was said to have been offisde when he receieved the ball, which he clearly wasn’t. These referees need instant replays in a desperate way. As for Pope’s red card, both of his challenges were bookable offences but he actually could have received a red card instead of a yellow in the first time since he was the last defender back when he pulled down the Italian player. Mastroeni’s challenge too could have been and was a red card offence. He went in studs first and could have broken Pirlo’s ankle. De Rossi’s red card, too, was justified but in no way should he be suspended. There is nothing in the FIFA rule books that says 1 red card is more significant than another. De Rossi’s elbow was no more dangerous than Mastreoni’s two footed challenge. Had he attacked Mcbride that would have been different but they both went up for the ball, elbows flew, as they usually do, and McBride was caught, that’s all.

Posted from  Canada

[...] Although as I mentioned the other day, I wasn’t expecting much, it still hurts. And it hurts to lose like this. But this has been the story of the World Cup so far. U.S. isn’t the only team to have legitimate complaint about officiating — just ask Zidane. Looking ahead, I do think there was some promise (straining to see the silver lining here; I am a Cancer so have a bit of a negative streak) with Convey and Johnson at the top of the deck. Obviously, the U.S. needs to find offense somewhere. Atrocious penalty aside, Onyewu looks to be the back of the future. They’ve got good athleticism and team speed, really there’s no excuse for not being more dangerous on the attack. U.S. soccer will wait a respectful amount of time before giving the boot to Bruce Arena, who couldn’t have looked less into it on the sidelines, and bringing in someone who’s right for this team. They’ll faze out aging stars like Donovan and Reyna (whose giveaway would’ve been the story if not for the ref) and find guys to plug those midfield slots. Olsen looked pretty good back there, actually. [...]

Posted from  United States

I am not sure what games you are watching AC, not the ones the rest of us are. Put the crack pipe down.

Posted from  United States

Hey Americans, the guy who quotes the rule book to justify the referees atrocious misconduct is probably just saying that bad calls not withstanding, the u.s. still only played well enough to lose. This team showed that the only thing stupider than 2 of the 3 red cards handed out by the uruguayan referee, was the math FIFA used when they ranked the U.S. fifth in the world. Tommorow France will have to face the most infamous referee team of the tournament; if they do manage to progress, they may not have enough players left to play with. Why FIFA would allow this officiating team to ruin another game is beyond me? Cant they be replaced by an official that dident completely ruin a world cup game?

hey micha, are you serious? i think asking any real american fan about the cards might draw alot of complaints, no rational person would even try to argue you on the fact that the US did not play well enough to advance out of its group. only one player scored a goal, they were arguably plagued by poor coaching, and they made tons if mistakes. america rules… but in the 2006 cup we sucked in soccer

An official that has not ruined a world cup game does not exist.

Posted from  Netherlands

the pill book

the pill book

Posted from  United States

This may sound like sour grapes but I think Australia has copped more than its fair share of bad decisions.

In our first game, Japan’s goal was allowed when it shouldn’t have been. Our second game we held Brazil to 1:0 for 89 minutes despite fouls going 25:9 against us (leading to Kewell’s outburst).

Our third game gave us the dubious honour of being the only side to have had to play against someone with two yellow cards. And full time called whilst the ball was in the air going into the goal.

Finally have a dive awarded a penalty with 12 seconds to go.

I know that some calls went the other way. Italy got a red card for what should have been a yellow offense but I don’t think having to play 35 minutes with 10 men (after playing nil all for 55) is equal to such a decision.

Although we only knocked out two teams from our group we ensured all three of our first round referees did not make it to the final 16 and I’m betting our referee from the final 16 will not make it to the finals.

Posted from  Australia

Well, Larrionda is officially in the bottom two of referees at the world cup.
Congratulations!

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/worldcup/stats?type=ref&year=2006&cc=5901

Ben

Posted from  United States

But he still got to referee a quarterfinal game between France and Portugal to go to the finals? WHAT?

That’s messed up.

Posted from  United States

Funny how the refereeing has been a lot better since the quarter-finals. What’s up with that ……. the other games didn’t count ??

LOL…..football needs a “pink-card” for the divers.

ps. someone else mentioned this about pink cards.

Posted from  Canada