It’s time for FIFA to get with the program and add instant replay to the World Cup, including all qualifying rounds. When it takes four years to determine a champion, you have to get the calls right, all the calls. I have no faith in this ever happening, since the only other organization that rivals FIFA for being stubborn, arrogant and disillusioned by money and power is, of course, the IOC. To be fair to the IOC though, they do use instant replay when needed.
This is about integrity and fairness. FIFA doesn’t have to change. They wield all the power in the soccer world. Outside of North America, soccer is the number one sport in virtually every country, none of which is willing or likely to take a stand and say enough is enough.
Perhaps Ireland should be that country. An instant replay, or a chance to throw a challenge flag, may have been the difference in getting the Irish to the World Cup and leaving the abysmal French at home. Le Bleu advanced with the help of a Thierry Henry handball during qualifying, denying the Irish a chance to perform on the world stage. Ireland did protest but the complaint fell on deaf ears. Rather than face the problem, or admit to it, FIFA just held up their hands and reasoned that there is a human element to the games and mistakes happen. In other words, they don’t care if the result is fair; they just want their massive share of the revenue generated by the world’s biggest and most popular sport.
The games today were without controversy as Brazil and the Netherlands easily handled Chile and Slovakia. What a relief! Yesterday’s games, however, were another black mark on a tournament already filled with terrible officiating. Offside calls that were not offside, offside plays leading to goals that should have been blown down, players being booked after opponents dove and feigned injury (nothing new with the latter). These calls and non-calls are ruining the 2010 tournament in South Africa.
The first goal of a game is very important in most sports but in soccer, with so many games ending 0-0 or 1-0, the importance is magnified. Yes, Argentina was and is a better team than Mexico, but the best team doesn’t always win, just ask the Italians. Give the better/higher ranked team that first goal, which the officials inexplicably did on an obvious offside play, and the underdog’s chances grow even slimmer. Simply put, it just changes the game. Teams play differently with the lead or when trailing. We’ll never know how the game would have played out if the right call had been made, or the wrong call had been overturned by a replay official. Mexico was dealt an unfair blow and never recovered.
The non-goal call that denied England an equalizing tally against Germany is one of the worst blown calls I’ve ever seen in sports. How long would it have taken for a replay official to make the correction, ten seconds? FIFA doesn’t want the delays incurred by replay but one thing I’d never say about a soccer game is that it was too long. Compared to baseball, football (North American) and hockey, a soccer game is much shorter, by up to an hour without extra time added.
A delay because of a player fakes an injury is okay though. How many players end up missing games because of red or accumulated yellow cards after players acted like they were shot after a tackle? Nothing is ever done to discipline these pathetic excuses for athletes. Get the calls right. It works in the NFL. Give each team one challenge flag per half, or even one per game at least. England, like Mexico, was beaten handily in the end but the playing field was not equal due to incompetent officiating.
Don’t worry about delays FIFA. The fans at the stadium are having a blast and those in South Africa probably wouldn’t notice the delay anyway. They’re too busy blowing their horns or vuvuzelas (whatever they’re called) to follow the game. I’m sure the fans at home watching on television wouldn’t mind either. Since there are no commercial breaks, it gives them time to get a beer or visit a washroom. Nobody would mind or care, as long as the right call is made.
