Confederations Cup Thread

[mukumsplau]

Clark's controversial ejection alters the balance

After having fought a man down for most of the second half in that epic 2006 World Cup match, no one could have blamed the U.S. national team for thinking this was its chance to play world champion Italy on level terms.

But Pablo Pozo had other ideas.

The Chilean referee showed a straight red card to American midfielder Ricardo Clark in the 33rd minute of Monday night's game, leaving the Americans a man short once again, and unbalancing a midfield carefully designed by coach Bob Bradley to interrupt the Italians' playmaking in the middle of the park.

(continue)

steups..

[asylumseeker]

Not doubting that there was some obstruction and some contact- Chiellini swung late and his leg made contact (hardly obstructive contact) with Altidore's almost an entire second  before Altidore flopped went to groud...and there was barely a "grab" of the upper body..... "took out his legs and grabbed his upper body" is a bit dramatic for what took place on the Altidore penalty shout...Take a look at it again and try to be neutral/objective

I've seen refs not call those (especially if they detect added antics such as Jozy's) and life go on without too much fuss beyond frustrated arms thrown in the air before the forward gets up and gets on with it....not begrudging the call but one could argue there was a little sympathy thrown in there for good measure.

Eh eh fella dat is ah legit penalty shout.  He did indeed take out JA's legs. Once Jozy cut left Chiellini got his leg which led to him going to ground.  In real time no second didn't pass either. 

Legitimate penalty. Not a shadow of a doubt.

[asylumseeker]

Jozy is a good player- and he's 19 let's not forget.  His touch was a bit hard yesterday... not sure if it's always like that, but I'll take a 19 year old striker mixing it up with the World Champs and holding his own over anything we have in our Nat'l roster.

The U.S. played ok- solid & organized but they didn't create enough to contest the game- I felt like the Italians were always in control of the match.  Altidore took a dive for the PK but I guess they deserved it following the very very harsh red card.

Brazil didn't look fluid but somehow yuh knew they would find a way to win that game- Brazil knows how to win even when they don't play well...it's been a mantra of theirs for a while- they score more goals than the opposition and that's the over-arching fundamental of the game- they also know how to lift/adjust their performances when needed to...part of what makes them one of the best in the game.  A Brazil-Spain final would be a dream matchup.    

The irony of who the opposition was makes this statement a glaring inclusion.

[asylumseeker]

juan in de 37th.3-1 brazil.

Here's a player who has Dunga's trust. Silent partner in the project.

[Mango Chow!]

Clark's controversial ejection alters the balance

After having fought a man down for most of the second half in that epic 2006 World Cup match, no one could have blamed the U.S. national team for thinking this was its chance to play world champion Italy on level terms.

But Pablo Pozo had other ideas.

The Chilean referee showed a straight red card to American midfielder Ricardo Clark in the 33rd minute of Monday night's game, leaving the Americans a man short once again, and unbalancing a midfield carefully designed by coach Bob Bradley to interrupt the Italians' playmaking in the middle of the park.

(continue)

steups..

  Double fackin steups!!  The americans was going to put level cutarse on them unskilled, labouring Italians had it not been for this bungling, no-nothing, anti-american, unpatriotic, Pinochet-loving nobody!
double, triple steups!   

[kicker]

Jozy is a good player- and he's 19 let's not forget.  His touch was a bit hard yesterday... not sure if it's always like that, but I'll take a 19 year old striker mixing it up with the World Champs and holding his own over anything we have in our Nat'l roster.

The U.S. played ok- solid & organized but they didn't create enough to contest the game- I felt like the Italians were always in control of the match.  Altidore took a dive for the PK but I guess they deserved it following the very very harsh red card.

Brazil didn't look fluid but somehow yuh knew they would find a way to win that game- Brazil knows how to win even when they don't play well...it's been a mantra of theirs for a while- they score more goals than the opposition and that's the over-arching fundamental of the game- they also know how to lift/adjust their performances when needed to...part of what makes them one of the best in the game.  A Brazil-Spain final would be a dream matchup.    

The irony of who the opposition was makes this statement a glaring inclusion.

True eh 

[Bitter]

So we know that Iraq is better than New Zealand.

32 minutes gone, still 0-0

[Bitter]

Oh yeah, one more thing: Harkes! Shut up!

[Mango Chow!]

Oh yeah, one more thing: Harkes! Shut up!

   Too late, Bitter.  I tried everything POSSIBLE (even consulted with a yoga instructor) to learn how to tune out these blathering, nauseatingly biased americans........to no avail.  espn obviously bought the absolute rights to this tournament because I can't find it on ANY of the Spanish channels.  Ah trying meh own style of yoga. 

[Deeks]

Chow, Try Galavision or pump down the volume!!!!!

[Mango Chow!]

Chow, Try Galavision or pump down the volume!!!!!

  Tanx, Deeks.......I had chek the other day but ah didn't see it.  Tanx a MILLION!!!!!!!!!!!

[Zeppo]

Oh yeah, one more thing: Harkes! Shut up!

Yeah, he's a crap commentator.

But would you guys rather have Caligiuri? 

[Bitter]

I could handle the onion bag.
Caliguri and Harkes cyah stick to talking about the game.

Harkes does act like he used to trap every ball and score every shot.

[elan]

Egypt lodge protest over alleged "video evidence"
Soccernet.com


Brazilian coach Dunga dismissed the matter as "Egypt's problem, not ours".

What stupid statement to make. His arse is on the line but to say this is absolutely senseless. It is a problem of the footballing world.

Nope. He's absolutely right. The right call was made and Brazil should not care, just like Egypt would not give a dam if it went the other way. It's not like the ref made a decision that cheated Egypt out of a rightful draw. Egypt tried to cheat..yuh eh see how the defender drop like he get shot. I for one am glad..not because I am openly a Brazil fan, but because when people cheat they should get caught. FIFA has decisions to make regarding video evidence and what to do about refs who break their rules, but that is FIFA and Egypt's problem. Brazil should be happy and relieved to get the right call. If T&T played the US and we should have won a game cuz the US cheated and the ref missed it...I'd be more than happy if the 4th official came to the rescue and we won the game on a call that we shoud rightfully have. It opens questions, but that is an off the field matter now. The right decision was made.

You talk real mess they man, what about when it go against you in a crucial game how would you feel then? To say it is not Brazil problem is ignorant. This is something that could cause havoc if it comes to the front that FIFA have been encouraging or turning a blind eye to the 4th official making calls after reviewing media footage for the center ref. Logically I cannot see how some could agree with such a decision. If is the lines man or someone like that then it's fine, but to replay a situation and then change your decision is cheating. There is no use of media to make a decision in football.

If you want all the correct calls made in sports the support American football. The discrepancies and the shortcomings of the ref is what make the game so much more heart stopping.

[kicker]

If you want all the correct calls made in sports the support American football. The discrepancies and the shortcomings of the ref is what make the game so much more heart stopping.

Brazil seemed to get a dose of good fortune in this case, but that last thing yuh say there is kinda mess...

Exciting football makes the game heartstopping- human shortcomings of the ref can make the result controversial, but blatant attempts to cheat as in the caes of Egypt actually serve to spoil the game if they go unpunished...

When Chelsea was bawling for hand balls & fouls against Barca, ah bet yuh chastise the ref over and over (mind you there was no evidence of cheating by Barca there- just dubious refereeing.... human shortcomings if you will)....now when the correct decision is ultimately made, all of a sudden a cheating side supposed to get away with it because the ref is human, and the game supposed to be heartstopping....steupsssss

[dinho]

If you want all the correct calls made in sports the support American football. The discrepancies and the shortcomings of the ref is what make the game so much more heart stopping.

Brazil seemed to get a dose of good fortune in this case, but that last thing yuh say there is kinda mess...

Exciting football makes the game heartstopping- human shortcomings of the ref can make the result controversial, but blatant attempts to cheat as in the caes of Egypt actually serve to spoil the game if they go unpunished...

When Chelsea was bawling for hand balls & fouls against Barca, ah bet yuh chastise the ref over and over (mind you there was no evidence of cheating by Barca there- just dubious refereeing.... human shortcomings if you will)....now when the correct decision is ultimately made, all of a sudden a cheating side supposed to get away with it because the ref is human, and the game supposed to be heartstopping....steupsssss

eh darkheart, the point is until FIFA change the laws of the game to make video replay official, then what the referees did was just as much cheating as what the defender did on the goal line. Regardless of what your morals telling yuh, rules is rules..

im not surprised that FIFA turned a blind eye to this one..

[elan]

If you want all the correct calls made in sports the support American football. The discrepancies and the shortcomings of the ref is what make the game so much more heart stopping.

Brazil seemed to get a dose of good fortune in this case, but that last thing yuh say there is kinda mess...

Exciting football makes the game heartstopping- human shortcomings of the ref can make the result controversial, but blatant attempts to cheat as in the caes of Egypt actually serve to spoil the game if they go unpunished...

When Chelsea was bawling for hand balls & fouls against Barca, ah bet yuh chastise the ref over and over (mind you there was no evidence of cheating by Barca there- just dubious refereeing.... human shortcomings if you will)....now when the correct decision is ultimately made, all of a sudden a cheating side supposed to get away with it because the ref is human, and the game supposed to be heartstopping....steupsssss

eh darkheart, the point is until FIFA change the laws of the game to make video replay official, then what the referees did was just as much cheating as what the defender did on the goal line. Regardless of what your morals telling yuh, rules is rules..

im not surprised that FIFA turned a blind eye to this one..

For me this is what football is all about (well in terms of excitement), hand of God, etc. Look, we will forever be arguing and debating whether England would have scored if Crouch did not pull Sancho Hair, or the goal in Korea that the USA was denied against Germany. The ref is the man in charge and if he cannot see it then it did not happen.    This is football. The shortcomings, the mystery of was it the right call or did he get it wrong. When it's against you it's heart wrenching, when it's for you it's amazing.

Once anyone steps outside the rules of the game it's cheating and what you endorsing is Robin Hood officiating. Remeber Robin Hood was wanted by the Sherriff of Nottingham.

[kicker]

eh darkheart, the point is until FIFA change the laws of the game to make video replay official, then what the referees did was just as much cheating as what the defender did on the goal line. Regardless of what your morals telling yuh, rules is rules..

im not surprised that FIFA turned a blind eye to this one..

Hoss I not disagreeing with anything you say- check the first sentence of my post....I start of by saying that Brazil seemed to get a good dose of fortune.... and if Elan used your rationale, de talk woulda done right there...

Dat heart stopping talk though is just garbage, otherwise the Chelsea men (like him) woulda have nuttin' tuh say about the refs performance against Barca because it doh get no more heartstopping than that...

Yuh cannot inconsistently excuse the human nature of the referees.

And regardless of anyone's take on it, the talk is not about whether or not the ref did the right thing, the talk is about what Dunga said, and Dunga is right- it's NOT Brazil's problem.  Brazil isn't responsible for the ref or FIFA's rules, Dunga eh beg the ref to use the camera replay (was it even confirmed that that was even done?) and Brazil didn't do anything wrong.  The Egyptian player tried to get away with cheating, and the ref "allegedly" broke the FIFA rule to get the call right...and in the end of the day regardless of the means, justice was actually served....so how is that Brazil's problem?

[Deeks]

IT was a deliberate hand ball!!!

[FF]

IT was a deliberate hand ball!!!

FIFA say Webb did not use the TV replay... the next linesman tell him what was up due to his unobstructed view.
The protest was rejected.

Point is Egypt cyah prove they use TV replays... and the man frankomen cheat and den on top of that try to fake he way out of it... dey should ban he arse for the next two games!

[kicker]

IT was a deliberate hand ball!!!

FIFA say Webb did not use the TV replay... the next linesman tell him what was up due to his unobstructed view.
The protest was rejected.

Point is Egypt cyah prove they use TV replays... and the man frankomen cheat and den on top of that try to fake he way out of it... dey should ban he arse for the next two games!

Thank you

[dinho]

If you want all the correct calls made in sports the support American football. The discrepancies and the shortcomings of the ref is what make the game so much more heart stopping.

Brazil seemed to get a dose of good fortune in this case, but that last thing yuh say there is kinda mess...

Exciting football makes the game heartstopping- human shortcomings of the ref can make the result controversial, but blatant attempts to cheat as in the caes of Egypt actually serve to spoil the game if they go unpunished...

When Chelsea was bawling for hand balls & fouls against Barca, ah bet yuh chastise the ref over and over (mind you there was no evidence of cheating by Barca there- just dubious refereeing.... human shortcomings if you will)....now when the correct decision is ultimately made, all of a sudden a cheating side supposed to get away with it because the ref is human, and the game supposed to be heartstopping....steupsssss

eh darkheart, the point is until FIFA change the laws of the game to make video replay official, then what the referees did was just as much cheating as what the defender did on the goal line. Regardless of what your morals telling yuh, rules is rules..

im not surprised that FIFA turned a blind eye to this one..

For me this is what football is all about (well in terms of excitement), hand of God, etc. Look, we will forever be arguing and debating whether England would have scored if Crouch did not pull Sancho Hair, or the goal in Korea that the USA was denied against Germany. The ref is the man in charge and if he cannot see it then it did not happen.    This is football. The shortcomings, the mystery of was it the right call or did he get it wrong. When it's against you it's heart wrenching, when it's for you it's amazing.

Once anyone steps outside the rules of the game it's cheating and what you endorsing is Robin Hood officiating. Remeber Robin Hood was wanted by the Sherriff of Nottingham.

well i disagree with that to an extent..

i am for retaining the human element, but im also for technology as long as it doesnt interfere with the flow of the game. so i would like to see goal line technology and other "hard data" calls, but im not for the game being stopped to refer to a 'third umpire' to reverse a referee's judgement decision on the field eg. fouls, pk kicks etc.

especially with the stakes today man.. too often these referees getting some simple calls wrong where a split second use of technology could clear up the issue.. it would take off less time than it takes when players crowding the ref to argue the call in any case.

[dinho]

IT was a deliberate hand ball!!!

FIFA say Webb did not use the TV replay... the next linesman tell him what was up due to his unobstructed view.
The protest was rejected.

Point is Egypt cyah prove they use TV replays... and the man frankomen cheat and den on top of that try to fake he way out of it... dey should ban he arse for the next two games!

i feel FIFA lying, but yuh right Egypt cant prove anything.

too bad my side Italy going and mash dem up good and proper today.

[Zeppo]

SA union: Low soccer turnout an embarrassment

Low attendance at Confederations Cup matches are an embarrassment to South Africa, the country’s trade union confederation said Wednesday.

Host South Africa almost filled the Ellis Park stadium in Johannesburg for Sunday’s opening game of the two-week tournament, but the world’s best teams— including Brazil, Spain and Italy—have played to less than full grounds, with some half-full.

“The Congress of South African Trade Unions urgently calls upon South Africans to buy more tickets and attend the Confederations Cup matches in greater numbers,” congress spokesman Patrick Craven said in a statement.

(continue)

[Zeppo]

FIFA to give tickets to people to fill stadiums

FIFA will give away free tickets to soccer fans in South Africa in an attempt to fill the thousands of empty seats at the Confederations Cup.

FIFA spokesman Nicolas Maingot says “there will be a number of complimentary tickets actually handed to institutions, institutions which have been very supportive of the event.”

Maingot did not say how many tickets would be handed out, but he said it will be for some of the remaining group matches. Schools and local authorities will be among the recipients of the free tickets.

(continue)

[kicker]

i feel FIFA lying

Why?

Yuh can't say this is the first time yuh see a ref reverse a call after a discussion with an assistant....

If Egypt didn't say anything this woulda just  be one of those....

[dinho]

i feel FIFA lying

Why?

Yuh can't say this is the first time yuh see a ref reverse a call after a discussion with an assistant....

If Egypt didn't say anything this woulda just  be one of those....

because the ref signal a corner, the near side assistant signal a corner... then next thing the ref listen to the mike and say wait penalty...

yuh go tell me the other linesman quiiiiite up by the next half see that and call it?

anyway like i said thats just a personal hunch.

[elan]

If you want all the correct calls made in sports the support American football. The discrepancies and the shortcomings of the ref is what make the game so much more heart stopping.

Brazil seemed to get a dose of good fortune in this case, but that last thing yuh say there is kinda mess...

Exciting football makes the game heartstopping- human shortcomings of the ref can make the result controversial, but blatant attempts to cheat as in the caes of Egypt actually serve to spoil the game if they go unpunished...

When Chelsea was bawling for hand balls & fouls against Barca, ah bet yuh chastise the ref over and over (mind you there was no evidence of cheating by Barca there- just dubious refereeing.... human shortcomings if you will)....now when the correct decision is ultimately made, all of a sudden a cheating side supposed to get away with it because the ref is human, and the game supposed to be heartstopping....steupsssss

eh darkheart, the point is until FIFA change the laws of the game to make video replay official, then what the referees did was just as much cheating as what the defender did on the goal line. Regardless of what your morals telling yuh, rules is rules..

im not surprised that FIFA turned a blind eye to this one..

For me this is what football is all about (well in terms of excitement), hand of God, etc. Look, we will forever be arguing and debating whether England would have scored if Crouch did not pull Sancho Hair, or the goal in Korea that the USA was denied against Germany. The ref is the man in charge and if he cannot see it then it did not happen.    This is football. The shortcomings, the mystery of was it the right call or did he get it wrong. When it's against you it's heart wrenching, when it's for you it's amazing.

Once anyone steps outside the rules of the game it's cheating and what you endorsing is Robin Hood officiating. Remeber Robin Hood was wanted by the Sherriff of Nottingham.

well i disagree with that to an extent..

i am for retaining the human element, but im also for technology as long as it doesnt interfere with the flow of the game. so i would like to see goal line technology and other "hard data" calls, but im not for the game being stopped to refer to a 'third umpire' to reverse a referee's judgement decision on the field eg. fouls, pk kicks etc.

especially with the stakes today man.. too often these referees getting some simple calls wrong where a split second use of technology could clear up the issue.. it would take off less time than it takes when players crowding the ref to argue the call in any case.

Nah I not into technology. I like how the game is now.


 

eh darkheart, the point is until FIFA change the laws of the game to make video replay official, then what the referees did was just as much cheating as what the defender did on the goal line. Regardless of what your morals telling yuh, rules is rules..

im not surprised that FIFA turned a blind eye to this one..

Hoss I not disagreeing with anything you say- check the first sentence of my post....I start of by saying that Brazil seemed to get a good dose of fortune.... and if Elan used your rationale, de talk woulda done right there...

Dat heart stopping talk though is just garbage, otherwise the Chelsea men (like him) woulda have nuttin' tuh say about the refs performance against Barca because it doh get no more heartstopping than that...
Yuh cannot inconsistently excuse the human nature of the referees.

And regardless of anyone's take on it, the talk is not about whether or not the ref did the right thing, the talk is about what Dunga said, and Dunga is right- it's NOT Brazil's problem.  Brazil isn't responsible for the ref or FIFA's rules, Dunga eh beg the ref to use the camera replay (was it even confirmed that that was even done?) and Brazil didn't do anything wrong.  The Egyptian player tried to get away with cheating, and the ref "allegedly" broke the FIFA rule to get the call right...and in the end of the day regardless of the means, justice was actually served....so how is that Brazil's problem?

BUt that's it right there, we (Chelsea fans) felt hard done, but that's the game. The ref is part of the game you have to deal with and with all my complaining and putting down the ref I totally enjoyed that game, the arguments over the non calls or the calls we felt that should not have been made made the game into something different for me. Knowing that the game went perfect or almost perfect because or technology will take a lot out of the game for me as there will leave very littl eof the human element. let stuff like what happen between Brazil and Egypt happen, nothing wrong with that. It creates rivalries, drives passion and leave some in bits and other overflowing. I truly believe with technological introduction into the game the game will lose a lot of appeal. No ne wants to watch the perfect football game.

[Mango Chow!]

In this case, after all the fuss, isn't it better that the officials at least got it right? FIFA don't want to "use technology" at a time when technology is working against that old way of thinking.  Fans can instantly see on the stadium screens, the errors and questionable calls on the part of the officials and, if it is that the officiating crew actually did steal an opportunity to break the rules to maintain the status quo (after all, would this tournament be worth 10 rands if the team earning the right to play Spain in the final didn't come down to the winner of the Brazil - Italy group match?) as Omar pointed out, it took less time to correct the call than it took for the Egyptians to get medical care for their fallen comrade who so heroically took a bullet to his arrrrrrrm .............face? in an attempt to save his team a point.  

[kicker]

because the ref signal a corner, the near side assistant signal a corner... then next thing the ref listen to the mike and say wait penalty...

yuh go tell me the other linesman quiiiiite up by the next half see that and call it?

anyway like i said thats just a personal hunch.

I think too that Brazil has a stigma attached to them of being a referee's/FIFA favorite...but I thought the ref changed his call almost immediately- didn't seem like there was much time to set up a slow motion video replay (even to view it over on the big screen) and ponder it etc...Look like whoever instructed the ref did so right after the play and probably had a good view of it...I dunno.