World Cup Discussion Thread

[Fragbait]

[replying to Nystul] Hi,

But instant replay so often reveals a different story...

And that's exactly what referrees don't have access too. That's what makes it hard for them to judge - but I think most of them are doing a good job.

And apparently now, it's not just enough to fall on the ground and pretend you got kicked in the shin and are in agonizing pain (when in fact you stumbled over the other player's foot). Your shin injury is apparently so severe that a stretcher is actually needed to drag your corpse off the field. But it must be some kind of magical stretcher, because by the time it gets to the sideline you are ready to jump back in the game and run windsprints.

That's a development that is partly due to medics attending to the player from the place of the foul to the side of the field. Also, Ice-Spray works wonders. And if you pay attention how many of those players that were treated at the side and come back afterwards have to be replaced some 10 minutes later, you begin to realize that the treatment didn't really restore them, but rather helped them to hang on for some minutes. Of course, many players don't want to miss one minute of such a large competition. After all, many are hoping for new contracts after the WM and want to present themselves as well as possible.

Nevertheless, there will always be the players that make a dive and try to get a free kick or penalty kick / try to waste some time for their team, especially if they are leading. Referees actually are to penalise such behaviour (the dive) with the yellow card. I agree that this card is pulled out not often enough for such foul behaviour, though - but sometimes it's just hard to tell!

Generally I think that this development is trying to get away from the behaviour of the 70ies, when yellow and red cards where seldomly awarded to players and the game could get really rough. I do think that this is a good idea, after all we want to see our stars conjuring, quick counterattacks, and fluid combinations. Boxing and kicking butts belong to martial arts, not football (how soccer should be properly called imho). I see that some of you regard soccer as a sissy sport, but then again - it's about the playing, not about raw physical presence. That's the only way how short lanky techinicians can play their ingenious deathly pass instead of getting crippled. In the 70ies, if your team ran into a counterattack, you as a defender just fouled the attacker, giving your team the chance to come back and risking only a free kick, while endangering the attacker's health.

Greetings, Fragbait