An illegal field used in Antigua & Barbuda?

Discussion in 'USA Men' started by Scotty, Oct 13, 2012.

  1. Scotty

    Scotty Member+

    Dec 15, 1999
    Toscana
    It was obvious that the dimensions of the field in Antigua & Barbuda were very small; our players were over-hitting nearly every cross, clearances were going straight to the opposite keeper, etc.

    So were the dimensions (length and width) below the legal FIFA standards? Or did they draw them up so that they just met the bare minimum?

    If they did fall outside of the standards then I think the USSF needs to make a formal complaint to FIFA and/or CONCACAF. Not that it would do us any good now, but the more we can eliminate this type of dishonest gamesmanship in our region the better.
     
    CTS26, SPA2TACU5 and beerslinger23 repped this.
  2. SPA2TACU5

    SPA2TACU5 Member+

    Jul 27, 2001
    ATX
    I will repeat:

    Formal complaints about the playing field must be filed before kick off.
     
  3. Clenbuterol

    Clenbuterol Red Card

    Aug 25, 2011
    Club:
    --other--
    We won. Who cares.
     
    FuzzyForeigner and Suyuntuy repped this.
  4. Bigrose30

    Bigrose30 Member+

    Sep 11, 2004
    Jersey City, NJ
    I took a screen shot from a video, and was able to extrapolate that the distance between a goalpost and the corner flag was just a shade less than three times the width of the goal.

    The width of the goal is 8 yards. That puts the midpoint of the goal about 28 yards from the sideline. Assuming the field is symmetrical, that implies that the field was approximately 56 yards wide.

    The minimum allowed by FIFA for internationals is 70 yards. My analysis was rather crude but I'd be willing to bet that the field was, in fact, not in accordance with regulations.

    The real question for discussion would be, should Klinsmann's staff really be out there with a tape measure, or should he just tell his troops to go win the F*ing game?
     
    StarsAndStripesFan repped this.
  5. FijiUnited

    FijiUnited Member+

    Feb 21, 2007
    Orlando
    Club:
    Orlando City SC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    No reason not to measure. Remember, this is CONCACAF. It's a backwater, 3rd world shitpit of a confederation for the most part. It's built on lies and graft. We need to challenge them.
     
  6. CenterLine

    CenterLine Member

    Jan 17, 2009
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Phil Schoen mentioned in the broadcast that it met the bare minimum, 70x118 yards I think & that the USSF did bring out the tape measures(tongue0in-cheek, I guess but he implies that the US did measure it before the game.)
     
  7. Clenbuterol

    Clenbuterol Red Card

    Aug 25, 2011
    Club:
    --other--
    So the field was barely legal?

    (I had to say it.)
     
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  8. SPA2TACU5

    SPA2TACU5 Member+

    Jul 27, 2001
    ATX
    Laws of the Game:
    international games, min-max:
    length: 110 - 120 yds
    width: 70-80 yds
     
  9. superdave

    superdave Member+

    Jul 14, 1999
    VB, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Don't google that at work.
     
  10. jamtime

    jamtime Member

    Jan 14, 2007
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    It definitely didn't pass the eyeball test, but the commentator said the USSF measured it before the game, so I guess it met the minimum field size, which is surprising considering the the minimum size is raised for international matches.
    ------------------------------Standard ---------------International match
    Minimum length:------ 100 yards (90 meters) ----110 yards (100 meters)

    Minimum width: ---------50 yards (45 meters)----- 70 yards (64 meters)

    Hard to imagine the field being smaller though.
     
  11. TrueCrew

    TrueCrew Member+

    Dec 22, 2003
    Columbus, OH
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    It is obvious that the OP doesn't know what he is talking about.
     
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  12. SPA2TACU5

    SPA2TACU5 Member+

    Jul 27, 2001
    ATX
    CTS26, deuteronomy, Adiaga Two and 2 others repped this.
  13. Schapes

    Schapes Member

    Aug 20, 2001
    Actually he said 70 x 110.
     
  14. SpencerNY

    SpencerNY Member+

    Dec 1, 2001
    Up in the skyway
    I was going to make a point about Gordon having no problem adjusting his cross so everyone should just stfu, but then I remembered that Gordon's home ground is friggin matchbox size.
     
    Sandon Mibut and Ganapper repped this.
  15. PhillyandBCEagles

    Jul 9, 2012
    NC
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    That field made some of the old postage-stamp MLS fields (Spartan Stadium, Ohio Stadium) look like freaking World Cup fields. And it was worse watching on the shxtty internet feed since you couldn't even really see the sideline.
     
  16. SPA2TACU5

    SPA2TACU5 Member+

    Jul 27, 2001
    ATX
    Small correction, obviously "12px" is supposed to say "12yds".
     
  17. Roger Allaway

    Roger Allaway Member+

    Apr 22, 2009
    Warminster, Pa.
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    It seems that the field was legal size, although just barely. Nothing that we could have protested about. However, it still bugs me that this happened in a cricket stadium. Aren't cricket pitches something like 150 yards in diameter? Was there lots more room out there, room that A&B could have used if it had wanted to?
     
  18. Scotty

    Scotty Member+

    Dec 15, 1999
    Toscana
    If you look again you'll see that the OP asked a question rather than making an assertion.
     
  19. SPA2TACU5

    SPA2TACU5 Member+

    Jul 27, 2001
    ATX
    Of course there was. But why would they want to?
     
  20. Lloyd Heilbrunn

    Lloyd Heilbrunn Member+

    Feb 11, 2002
    Jupiter, Fl.
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
     
  21. Roger Allaway

    Roger Allaway Member+

    Apr 22, 2009
    Warminster, Pa.
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Agreed. That's my point. If it had been narrow out of necessity, it would have been easier to take than narrow out of extreme gamesmanship.

    But I suppose that Jamaica and Guatemala had to face the same thing when they played in Antigua, so maybe it's a wash.
     
  22. SPA2TACU5

    SPA2TACU5 Member+

    Jul 27, 2001
    ATX
  23. SPA2TACU5

    SPA2TACU5 Member+

    Jul 27, 2001
    ATX
    [​IMG]
    Provided marking of the penalty area and the hash was done correctly:
    the dimensions are supposed to be:
    8 yards for the goal line, divided by 2, making it 4.
    6 yards for the gk area.
    12 yards from gk area to edge of the penalty area.
    Then from side line to the hash, 10 yards.
    This would add up to: 32 yards, times two it would be 64 yards. 70 - 64 = 6. Divide six for both sides of the field = 3.
    This would mean the gap between the hash and the penalty area would have to be 3 yards.
    Now if you look at the blue line with a height of 26 px,
    it would cover 1 yard with 8.66 pixels, where it should be somewhere between 17.1px per yard and 10.75px per yard.

    Meaning the length of the blue line seems highly unlikely to be representing 3 yards.

    In other words, this field was not 70 yards wide.
     
  24. SJTillIDie

    SJTillIDie Member+

    Aug 23, 2009
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Buck Shaw is 74 x 115 yards duderino!
     

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