Or maybe to keep HIM and his family safe...I've read a "I want him and his family to die a slow death" comment on Youtube and lots of things in the same vein. The whole thing is going completely overboard ! I pity the guys who will end end up amidst those media outbursts for whatever reasons. It's really like the resonance phenomenon...Funny how the most modern technologies seem to enhance the most archaic behaviours...
I would agree anything bringing another man's families into the picture is totally uncalled for and crossing the line. It's a game of football and yes my blood is still boiling over that call but I would never think of writing death threats to the players family (in this case Henry). By the way the Ireland Football team's call for a reply was shot down by FIFA today, but in Dublin Ireland submitted a reply to the FFF. We will just have to sit back and see what France has to say about this. Does anyone think that the French would actually accept a request from Ireland to reply the match and then FIFA could overturn their call they made today and reply this thing.
Given the current FFF management, I'd be surprised, don'i dream too much Ireland. Unless there is political pressure for it to happen, but would that be such a good thing ?
How surprising FFF rejected Ireland's request for a re-match. France football is being very cowardly man up and play a re-match.
I too liked those players. LOL, Keano was one of my fav non-Arsenal players in the EPL and loved the Vieira vs. Keane match-ups!
It's OK, he's not playing at the weekend due to serious injury that makes it impossible for him to play. Broken finger.
"Mistimed, rather than reckless." And Anelka dove, so I don't know what you are thinking regarding that one.
Maybe Ireland should offer Georgia a rematch after cheating them out of a win in Dublinearlier in the campaign?
Yes! After all they have been using seeding in the WC UEFA-zone qualification playoffs for the previous WC. So called big teams in the playoff or not it has been there in past playoff. I would like to know where you have read that FIFA had initially decided not to use seeding in the playoff this time around.
Look, mom, the pot is calling the kettle black! Besides that, I think it's about time soccer implement an instant replay system. Maybe even allow the coaches one "challenge" per game, similar to American football.
this deserves a complete debate of its own and i'll bet there are already big threads about it somewhere. imho any kind of video replay would be a disaster. it works well in tennis, but the whole dynamic of the game is different, play stops after every point. and even in the NFL where the ball is dead 90% of the time it doesn't work all that well. the first time they tried it it almost killed the game it was so ludicrous.
But it worked out ok. I'm not saying we replay everything. There will need to be some sort of a system in place. For example, we allow coaches to challenge ONE call per game. Something like that. I'm not an expert on this, but it is a big problem that needs some solution.
that's one opinion. i for one gave up watching gridiron years ago and one of the main reasons is that it's so excruciatingly overofficiated. some games the refs are on screen more than the players.
There's contact with Given and Anelka , and Given gets no contact on the ball = penalty . For all this match fixing stuff , the referee could've easily gave that penalty no ?
The 606's Jitty made an excellent point: FIFA and UEFA are probably delighted that most of the attention in this debacle is going to Henry and not the woefully out-of-their depth officials or the lack of video replay in refereeing.
How long would it take to review a goal? Ten seconds? Fifteen? It takes longer than that for play to resume after a team has scored you know.
The video technology is already there! There isn't one incident on the football pitch that doesn't go unnoticed, with a variety of camera angles covering every apsect of the match, provided for us within seconds. All this would've needed was a single monitor for the 4th official to view & the decision would've been cancelled. This would give the 4th officials something to do other than being the tedious peacekeeper around the technical areas. Am sure they conferred "unofficialy" to implement these means in getting Zidane his marching orders in the last WC final. FIFA & UEFA are running scared of the surely inevitable. What from, who knows? only the utter naive can't see the game for what it is now. There's nothing left to expose. The idea that it will somehow break-up the flow is utter garbage. The ball is out of play for a good chunk of the match anyway & few games actually flow these days without incessant start-stop play. Until then, the millions watching will be privy to more than the man that truly matters. Just spare me the crass PR, spin, hollow image rights protection, patronising, insulting sidestepping & denial from the culprits in these cases. Then again, those who cheat normally won't admit it, neither should we expect them to, otherwise why do it? Those that own up are definitley in the minority, especially footballers. It's just that in the face of conclusive video evidence, you still aren't spared the brazen-faced refusal. They really are in a bubble. One of the worst examples to mind is the unheralded yet ubelievable handball by Raul Gonzalez for Real Madrid against the then David O'Leary's doomed Leeds Utd side in the Champions League away at the Bernebau. From corner-kick, the King of Spain didn't just touch the ball at the near post, but clealry punched it forcebly into the back off the net &, like Henry, didn't let his mask slip, & kept up the pretence in order to convince the already hapless officials & mabye to betray his own conscience that everything was above board. The worst of it though came post-match. Upon being asked by a reporter if he'd handled the ball to score, a stupid question initself considering the damning evidence, but all too predictable & typical of the fawning, over-protection of footballers, was met with utter denial. This is what we're up against. This is football. Apologies mean nothing. They do it because they wan't to & becuase they can. It's only "accepted" because nothing is really done about it.
there for televised matches. what about the 90% of pro matches that aren't? and what about amateurs? their matches don't matter? just as importantly, those replays we see are handled by a producer, who can decide which ones are seen and which ones not. and if the the kangaroo court of millions who see all these replays can't decide on what they see in days and days (look at the differences of opinion about the anelka "penalty") how can you say video will provide ironclad answers. as for saying it wouldn't break up the flow of the game, get real. i'd like to see ONE match played the way you want, it would be proof enough; it would be an unmitigated disaster.
Why would it be a disaster? Just give the fourth official access to the video and grant him the authority to overrule the ref. Only when he's absolutely sure that the man on the field got it wrong does he intervene. So any 50-50 decision, he leaves to the ref. Only in those instances where everyone and their dog agrees he got it wrong (like the Henry hand ball) does he intervene.
FIFA is a joke. I have followed soccer or football all my life but about a year ago I started to follow it more close than I ever have before. I have to say before I started following closely I didn't have a problem with Blatter and his boys running FIFA, now I do for reasons anyone can see. Can they not see that reply needs to be installed? Hell Bud Selig the MLB commish is against it but at least he gave in to the home run decision which has made the game flow and it doesn't really make the game that much longer. The only thing with the reply is that had it been installed the final score of the CC cup would have been 4-2 Brazil. When Brazil scored and it was disallowed that was about the only time I was happy there was no reply in FIFA. As a US fan I was pissed when a German player touched the ball with his hand in the box and nothing was done. Football needs reply and they need it now, I can't stand this bullshit.
I think it will need something like that incident in a WC final for steps to be taken (let's hope such a controversy won't happen though).
