I've been watching World Cup football as far back as Italia '90, I know it's two decades ago (gosh that makes me sound so old) but yeah I have been watching football for that long. I can't remember much of the Italian World Cup, but the American, French, Japanese/South Korean, German and I'm still watching the South African.
The debate that has pushed itself to the fore of this World Cup, is not why did the big names flop? or why does the Jabulani swerve even though its the 'perefectest' ball? or why Diego Forlan is the only man that knows how hit the ball so cleanly?.. no it's when will FIFA update the fundamental rules of football? The 'suits' in the FIFA offices prefer to change rules which have very little effect on the game and the players. I was reading the rules recently and the colour of any undergarments such as baselayer tops or compression shorts need to be the same as the jersey or shorts. Sock holders, shinpad holders, wrist and ankle tapes also have be the same colours. If you ask me, I'll say it is a pretty pointless adjustment to the rules. I am sure most players will have my back on this issue, because they'd rather get on with the game and know when the ball has crossed the line for sure or if a player is off-side than have any fashion sense on the pitch.
The decision making has been fairly average or poor at times at this World Cup, the majority of referees seem very keen to compete with the vuvuzelas that the watching the game feels like watch American Football, only difference is technology and the right to challenge decisions exists in the latter.
It does no one any good for Sepp Blatter to come out and apologise for the errors of the referees when in fact FIFA is where the errors lie. You can't punish a law enforcer if he was doing his job in the right way even though the law is outdated. Similarly the refs are only doing their jobs and the rules don't in fact have anything to say about the ref not seeing it before a goal stands. One match in question was the England v Germany, Round of 16 match, where Frank Lampard strike had hit the crossbar, bounced a good yard over the goal-line, then bounced back and hit the cross-bar before landing in the willing grasp of Manuel Neuer. The German defenders saw it, the goalkeeper knew it, Frank Lampard and his team-mates saw it, the whole stadium saw it, Sepp Blatter, Michel Platini, David Cameron, Angela Merkel and millions of viewers saw it but the goal did not stand because the referee and his assistant did not see it. The sound of that makes the whole situation even more ridiculous.
see for yourself...
If FIFA could invest so much technology in getting the Jabulani up to 21st century standards why can't they, in the same vain, get the rules on goals up to 21st century standards. It's very simple put some cameras on the crossbar, or in the nets or above the nets, or a chip in the ball with GPS satellite. There must be some cost-effective way to eliminate such blunders. I don't think it removes the human-element either as some anti-goal-line technology folks will say, it takes 3 seconds to have a review radio the ref and decision is made. Heartbreaks will be prevented, referee jobs will be more secure because they know they can't be judged on the blunders.
Sepp Blatter's apology is a step for us to hope that very soon there will be changes to the game we love, one day goal-line technology will be the normal football world. Hopefully that day is before summer 2014 in Brazil.
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