We Report, You Decide

Photo Courtesy Associated Press

Kicking Back Comments:
In almost every news story that I have read on this topic, I get confused. What exactly does an arrest for smuggling 6 kg of heroin in 2010 have anything to do with refereeing in 2002?

These articles, and some of their quotes seems to imply, and in some cases, just states, that this referee had a substance abuse problem that led to his on the pitch issues.

The following quote from the AP story below shows this willingness to blame the referee then, for what the man has done today:

Franco Carraro, an International Olympic Committee member and Italy's soccer federation president at the time of the South Korea game, said the arrest proves Moreno had problems.

Ladies and gentlemen, I urge great caution with these assertions. This one strikes a nerve with me as there have been folks in my career who have made erroneous assumptions about my past on pitch performance and incorrectly connected it to some present, off the pitch issue. Some of these comments smack of this rubbish.

While I don't discount that connections between on and off the field can and should be made, when it comes to something so serious, caution is advised. For me personally it was one of the larger data points in my choice to end my career when it did. I hope Mr. Moreno gets the fair shake he deserves as he traverses what would appear to be a difficult road ahead.

These comments are also momentarily ignoring the sheer lunacy of the physiology of blaming the referee after (8) years has past in what I would consider a pathetic search for vindication from Mr. Carraro. That alone makes me seriously question the competence level from this former coach and IOC member.

But as I state in the title ... we report, you decide.

Ref Moreno's arrest sparks anger in Trapattoni

ROME — Former Italy coach Giovanni Trapattoni is hoping fans will look back on his reign in a different light after the arrest of former referee Byron Moreno in New York.

The Ecuadorean, blamed by Italian fans for the Azzurri's elimination from the 2002 World Cup, was caught on Monday at John F. Kennedy Airport with bags of heroin attached to his body, according to U.S. federal prosecutors. A judge jailed Moreno without bail on a drug smuggling charge. ...

Full story here, courtesy of the AP.