You aren't along in this view. Watching the current women's team, it seems like they have regressed/developed the same problem suffered by the men's team: not enough players who are really good at 1 thing, or 1 position. Somehow, the individual quality of our WNT players is worse now than it was 10-15 years ago.
That was actually one of the few calls she made that I agreed with because she was consistent. It would have been her second yellow, and she already refused to send off Lloyd on a second yellow for handling.....
I'm a US fan. I was livid. Now that we moved on and I've calmed down... I think Melksham is getting waaay too much grief. I think her game was about on par with the Alvarado in the German Japan game. Both these games were challenges from the getgo - GER-JPN because of the mismatch in physiques, and USA-BRA because of the, um, similarity... The PK - I just didn't see it at real speed. A messy scramble in the box, both players going for the ball, both arm wrestling. In replay, yes, Buehler has a handful of jersey, and swings and misses the ball, but lift Marta's leg. Meanwhile Marta is flying through the air, very optimistically. Cloddish defending versus over ambitious attacking. Whatja goin' t'do? Melksham was very well positioned to make the call. The RC - is it unavoidable? A few years ago, when I was still paying attention, I know Premiere League refs would give YC's when they awarded a PK for an unfortunately foul play. From what some fans are saying, it looks like that still the convention. The retake - yes, a violation, and a good example why a thoughtful ref turns a blind eye. OTOH how !@#$ing hard is it for the captain of the #1 world ranked team to follow the rules when her other 10 teammates manage to? The offside - the far side of the field is always tough, and it's not like Brazil got a hugh advantage (except that Boxx decided to give some). The Lloyd handball - I couldn't see the field, but it didn't strike me as a particularly tactical situation. The ball was loose, comes bouncing up, and Lloyd tries to run through it and doesn't... Would have been a rather weak 2d yellow I would think. Yeah there was some possible tactical fouls uncalled, and some restarts missed, but there always are.
The RC/PK was a missed call, but I don't think the ref saw this play from the angle as everyone else. You have hand contact going both ways and suddenly Marta's legs go out from under her and she lands on her back. The hand contact may have been going both ways, but Buehler's tugs obviously had more impact. Yes, I know Marta was really lunging for the ball, but I can at least understand what I think the CR thought she was seeing. And I also agree the situation where the handball occurred is more important than the fact that it was intentional (especially since the handball has to be intentional in order to be a foul at all). Loyd's handling wasn't a situation where you give someone a YC. The two retakes? Calling pretty tight for the encroachment, and tighter than most WC refs (men or women) for the PK, but both technically correct. Ironically, the encroachment brought Rampone in so quick she ran herself out position to have any impact on the rebound play. And, no, protocol dictates that you don't show the card to a player that's laying on the ground. It might be cheating just a little to wait until you see how much spring the player had jumping up off the stretcher, but I think that's what the CR did. If it was for simulation, as long as the CR booked the player before the next restart, she's meeting the laws, but if the player never got up off the stretcher until she was back to the bench and didn't make such a scene about it, I have a feeling she wouldn't have gotten the caution at all. I think someone suggested USB for bringing the game into disrepute? I could buy that. Aside from the RC/PK, the main problem with the referee was communication and player management. I kind of felt she brought some of the dissent onto herself just by poor communication. Come on, have you ever met a goalkeeper that knew big words like encroachment? Why not just tell her a defensive player came in early? And what was Boxx thinking? Holding your hand in the air for offside is something kids do - not professionals! (And a good youth coach then yanks that player and pretends he thought she was asking for a sub. Wait! This happened in extra time! Boxx might have been wishing for a sub by then.) But, as far as play, good fitness for the American players (Boxx, too). Even with the Americans playing with only 10 players, the Brazilian players were gassed at the end while the USA were still bringing it.
The fitness of the US players was impressive. They didn't seem to lose anything when they went a player down. That has to give them some confidence going forward...
You're wrong. The referee called handling. In that situation, it HAS to be a yellow. I've never seen an attacking player try to knock in a ball with his hand, get called for handling, and it NOT be a yellow. To not book Aline would have been like not sending off Buehler. I see your point, but still disagree. Lloyd's handling is normally a yellow, I'll grant you, but you do see such plays not booked. I have NEVER seen a play like Aline's not booked. IMO, there's no judgment to be made...when you do that, it's a yellow.
First, don't put words in my mouth. It's your opinion that the penalty/send-off was ticky-tack -- not mine. I thought it was spot on. Second, don't confuse GAME CHANGING with "incorrect". A USA defender had a fistful of jersey on a player that was trying to strike the match-tying goal. Could it have been let go? Sure. But if it had, and that game had finished 1-nil, you don't think Brazil would have referred to that decision as "game-changing?". It was a game-changer either way, but it had to be called one way or the other, so get over "fans don't come to see the referee", because the referee was going to be part of the story REGARDLESS of her decision. Now, would --I-- have ordered a re-take for that PK? Probably not. Is that usually called? No. But the fact that something is called that typically isn't doesn't mean that it's incorrect either. If Shannon Boxx stays out of the area like she's supposed to be doing, that game's over in 90 instead of 120.
ESPN's latest article says: "Shortly following the post-match news conferences, soccer's often bumbling governing body, FIFA, said the call was because Solo went forward before the ball was struck. Replays didn't really support the argument." That makes sense given that the call was made by the AR, who didn't appear to be looking anywhere other than the goal line.
I thought it wasn't made by the AR...although that would put the Referee off the hook for such a bad call.
What makes you say that? I certainly didn't see any signal. All I saw was her backpedaling like crazy, as if she thought she need to get back in position cuz the ball was in play.
Bob Ley did a live interview with Wambach and Solo an hour ago. Solo claims that she still does not know what the yellow card issued to her was for. If she screamed something to the effect of "you've to be F-ing" kidding me" (just using an example), you'd think the ref would "understand" the magnitude of the match and that this is not a U8 Girls match. Considering that English is her first language, it's astonishing that Melksham has so much difficulty in player management and verbally communicating to players. Sticking her hand out wouldn't have been a problem if she actually kept marking Marta. On the PK call where she entered before the shot, you would like to think that as a "veteran" player like her would have been one of the first players (and Rampone) to make sure everyone was behind the line (notice that no one from Brazil crosses). You can also make argument that the Brazilian keeper "bailed-out" Boxx by coming out early as it was a poorly taken shot in my opinion. If that doesn't get called, she's involved in three of the major plays in the game and Shannon actually does have to hide in a Boxx (pun intended). As far as conditioning, I agree 100%. One of the few tidbits that Foudy provided was that Brazil only had one tune-up prior to the WWC. Did it make a difference, here? Probably not, but it makes you wonder. They should have dominated possession after the red card, but were so exhausted that it didn't seem to matter.
The other AR, the play previous at the other end, Alex Morgan was called for a 'barely' offsides, without much advantage at the far side of the field from the AR. That's what made that non-call so damn frustrating.
If if was a U8 match that would be a Red Card. In a World Cup match I'm glad someone is yellow carded if they yell that in a referees face. I'm tried of watching Rooney tell referees to F*** Off all the time.
I was there. It was shocking to see everyone so pumped up about this. They even showed the entire first half during batting practice.
I give up. In the age of instant communication, the fact that FIFA either is (A) clueless on how to best inform players and the world WTF is happening on a particular call or (B) can't get a correct story from their own refereeing crew after a match is beyond insane. As others have said, the AR was retreating like it was a good save, so unless the instruction was to communicate through the comm system that it was to be retaken, but keep up with play until the CR blows the whistle, then FIFA's explanation makes no sense. It really is a toss up between FIFA and MLB as to which sports organization is more slow moving and stubborn.
Exactly. By intentionally entering the penalty area early Boxx is, frankly, specifically violating the spirit of the game and trying to cheat on something she believes the referee would never have the guts to call. Her entering the box trying to get away with it is in the same vein as setting up a wall 8 yards from the ball on a free kick or a goalkeeper holding the ball for 12 seconds--clear cut violations that rarely get enforced the way they should. This wasn't an accident: she was trying to cheat, gain an advantage, and got caught. Unfortunately, the penalty itself should never have been called.
If your attacking players play well, offside calls should be difficult for the AR to get correct. Most should be very close, either way.
Damn, hell has frozen over . All of the local NY news stations spent about 30 seconds on the game. The Red Bulls don't even get as much.
My heart is still racing from one of the most engaging soccer games I've ever seen. I'm a stone, cold fan of USWNT and a dad of a daughter who loves the game. USA! USA! Three things stand out for me: 1) I am so glad the CR was a woman. Perhaps if it was a guy, things may have gone differently (better). Maybe. But we've seen guys have bad games, too. And if this game had ended with a US loss AND a male in the middle... That would have left a terribly bad taste in my mouth. I'm sure if the US had lost, I would be more open to the idea that best-ref/best-game could have completely avoided the problem. But problems are inevitable. And women for women makes the problems easier to swallow. For me at least. Just one fan's opinion 2) The women's game is different. In many, many ways. The way that sticks out for me here is the "self-policing". If that had been male players, and the ref had the same troubles, the game would have imploded, IMHO. Dissent and cynical play would have taken over and destroyed the spectacle. The women's game still seems to have more of the old (mythical?) "olympic spirit". I love it. Again, just one fan's opinion 3) From a refereeing-mechanic's question, how can you give a card for recovering too quickly? I 100% agree she deserved a card. But it seems to open a huge LOTG can of worms to card someone for hopping up off of a stretcher. It is 100% common sense, but how do you fill out the game report to make it bullet-proof? P.S. When you know the "injured" player off the field is gaming you, how long can/should you let them sit there? At what point are you abusing your authority?
OK, fine. But if that's the standard of exactitude the CR was enforcing in the match, it was...well, it was NOT the standard of exactitude the CR was enforcing the rest of the match. That call, in fact, stood out specifically because the CR was NOT calling a bunch of other stuff. It stood out by itself.
What about Alex Morgan? Don't know about her skill level but she has the looks part down. I think it's the Olympic quality that a World Cup has that draws interest especially when the USA team is doing well. The whole perception that the ref was against us will always draw interest. America likes a underdog and all the better if they pull it out in the end.
Im simply going to go out on a limb and say I don't believe what FIFA says. The AR is being used as a scape goat for a poor performance by the CR.