Only the French
Are you kidding me? I can deal with a number of sporting injustices, but this goes so far beyond the pale that I want to write my congressman and demand that french fries be permanently renamed freedom fries. How does any French sport fan look themselves in the mirror without a modicum of shame after this. How does that referee ever oversee a game after this? The stakes were high, and in the end the fear of a referee refusing to make a bold stand against the home team wins out over anything that occurs on the pitch. Someone has to make a stronger case for an extra official or/and instant replay. Hell instant replay in the last 5 minutes of regulation and injury time. There is no greater bitterness in football than something of this nature.
November 20th, 2009 at 1:26 am
Holy Hell that’s fucked up. But I hate Ireland more than the French so screw them.
But on a positive note, this should at least help bring replay to the game.
November 20th, 2009 at 3:59 am
Dude, I can’t find the video. It’s been removed on Youtube and Some cursory internet search turns up nothing. Conspiracy?
November 20th, 2009 at 4:01 am
How would the coaches call for replay, btw? throw a red flag like they do in the NFL?
I gotta think they should have it to … just trying to figure out if there’s a way they can do it without stopping the action. An extra official in the booth maybe, who goes to the camera when the flag comes out … play on unless the whistle blows?
November 20th, 2009 at 4:25 am
here’s the vid I had to watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siJQZs2Sbho
Good questions about how to handle replay. Since there’s a flow of play, not a bunch of individual scripted plays seeking a flow, it’s difficult to stop the game. But generally speaking, at the moment of these huge WTF(!?) kinda of plays, everyone inherently stops and looks around anyway as the ball rolls out of bounds. Again, generally speaking. And there’s usually an opportunity for everyone to reassess.
However, there should simply be someone in a booth somewhere that says WTF, calls down to the ref on the field who then blows the whistle. Let the game and what happens, and the camera dictate what happens, not the subjective process of the benches. Geez. Some of these coaches in soccer are a rare breed.
November 20th, 2009 at 4:33 am
wow friggin wow.
i like the little offsides box, too. maybe they can do that with lasers.
November 23rd, 2009 at 5:04 pm
JtotheF why do you hate the irish?
November 23rd, 2009 at 5:30 pm
MH - as is the case with these things, it’s personal. Very very personal.
But don’t get me wrong - eff the French too, right in the eye.
On a side note, I think it’s really funny that anyone would possibly expect the game to be replayed. And Henry is a prick for stating that he is not a cheater, “and never has been” (ahem, he touched the ball once and then redirected further a second time), but then noted that he thought the game should be replayed. Of course we all know full well that FIFA would never support that idea, which pretty much makes Henry one massive cock…”le Coq Sportif” indeed…
Either way, “football” is getting as dumb as football when it comes to its governance. “Football” needs to start using instant replay, and football needs to change their overtime rules.