So, i first thought "what an asswank" the referee is when he "painted" a spot where the free kick, and thought how embarrassing when he was painting a line for 10 yards. It got worse when he "forced" Nakazawa to move the ball an inch closer to the spot, and then i hear that it is an MLS wide thing? Boy, when you want the league to be better thought of in mainstream "soccer" countries, you really don't want to come up with really stupid "things" like that. p.s. the ref today was rank rotten. I don't think i've ever seen a worse performance than that.
why so negative toward the spray? its fantastic and helps stop encroachment on free kicks. It works. I wish they had implemented it sooner. And 10 cards in 45 minutes? Garbage, but it doesn't really matter because the U didn't deserve any points from yestrerday.
Yep, not an MLS wide thing, it's soon to be a FIFA wide thing once the votes go through, and most likely you will see it in the next WC
Yeah, it's miles better than the alternative, which is obstructing free kicks, which always happens. I think some argentines invented it because it's always infuriating when people creep in after the ref sets up the spot, and it will and should be worldwide, what is the gripe?
I love the spray. I watched it in MFL matches last year and was astounded at how much nonsense it cut out of the game re: setting up walls, etc. Pretty much the best FIFA innovation since the passback rule.
It looks really stupid. Referees shouldn't need it. The "annoying" thing about encroaching is people running in - a line on the ground isn't going to stop the ref seeing that. A good ref should never be seen - this makes them more of a focus, and will not enhance the game at all. The wall creeping forward a few feet makes no difference at all. Oh yeah - it REALLY looks stupid (in my opinion)
My biggest problem with the paint is that either the accumulated fumes effected the ref, or he was huffing it during halftime.
I, and lots more people, disagree. The line is no more stupid than holding up little colored cards to give out fouls or having the linesmen wave flags for offside, and it drastically limits the amount of encroachment in games (which is present with even the best refs...which we saw at the world cup). And when you're looking to curl a ball over the wall and onto the 6 with pace, yes, every inch the wall encroaches makes a big difference. Seriously, I watched it all last season in MFL and was astounded at how much of a difference it made. The only reason it looks weird is because it's new. Watch some games with and without it and you'll see what a positive difference it makes.
The paint is standard practice here in Brasil and has been for a number of years. Given the problems it's trying to curb, it makes sense and definitely seems to help. It's easy and doesn't slow the game at all. In fact, it can make things faster as it minimizes the back and forth between the ref and the wall over where the invisible 10 yard mark is. On the whole it is a positive and I really can't think of a negative. Never thought of it looking stupid, I just thought about it being at least moderately effective.
Nah, i would have brought it up. Maybe it's the "traditionalist" in me, and given a chance (and better referees might help) - but the "result" is irrelevant to it. I would have said the same if i had seen it in Brazilian football (which according to the other poster it works well).
What's worse though... the ref stopping a lead up to the ball every few seconds to tell the players to move back, or marking the spot once and it being clear as to why he may be stopping the play at that moment... Watch rugby and you'll see how often the call the play dead and reset and see how annoying it is because of positioning and it no being proper (usually the scrum). I've seen a ref stop one free kick 3 or 4 times to move the players each time. This guarantees where the spot is, and there's no dispute.
I saw the paint in Brazil quite a few years ago in Brazil and thought it was an excellent idea, and was surprised it wasn't implemented in more places around the world. unfortunately for the game, there seems to be less and less of a respect for the referee these days and the spot where he designates free kick and especially 10 yards from the wall are more often than not ignored. While the players scoot up the referee is forced to hold up play until they get back into place, only to have the players inch forward when he turns his back. This paint draws a clear line for the players and gives the referee more control over the game and in the long run allows the play to continue in a more timely fashion.
I think it's a good idea as well. When I first saw it i thought it was a little extreme but it makes sense and should help teams score on free kicks. I also thought it would scuff up the field with all these random markings but it appears to be a more watered-down spray that fades away pretty fast. Good move MLS.
Why paint and not some marker i.e. referee flag bag? That way you dont' have to respray after the match and f up the pitch. I mean there's confetti, and banners and all sorts of other garbage on the pitch, two little weighted flags can't be that bad, can it?
because this disappears after a few minutes and you aren't introducing a potential obstacle onto the pitch that an official will have to pick up later. it's a very good solution.
As a former referee, I can say that this shouldn't be needed, but unfortunately many referees don't do their job. Something like this eliminates any question. Also, the creeping in makes a HUGE difference. At a pro clinic I attended, we saw a slide tha showed the difference in open goal a free taker sees with a wall positioned properly, at 8 yards and at 6 yards . If you're a good free kick taker, you're at a severe disadvantage when the wall encroaches and at the team commuting the foul is gaining an advantage to which it isn't entitled. The idea to use paint like this started in the Brazilian league about 10years ago and Fifa allowed it. Mexico adopted it recently as well. I believe this going to be used in WCQ and other leagues as well. It's something similar to that, yes.
I think it is a bit silly; I don't see how it stops the players from encroaching; its not an actual forcefield. For instance Le Toux (and someone else) kept encroaching and giving Beckham an excuse to not take that free kick at the end of the game when it was obvious he was not going to take it to get a yellow. After Le toux did stop it still took the ref about 30 more secs for the ref to give the yellow (you can see Beckham laugh as if to say I can't believe it took you that long). On a diff note the ref was terrible but had nothing to do with our loss.