The Liverpool "Red Sox" (Credit to CW Rice)

Liverpool sold to Red Sox owners

LONDON—Liverpool was sold to the owners of the Boston Red Sox on Friday after a bitter trans-Atlantic court fight with the previous American owners over the storied English soccer club.

The $476 million deal with New England Sports Ventures ends the turbulent three-year ownership by Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr.

The sale went through after Hicks and Gillett withdrew the temporary restraining order they had obtained in a Texas court. Later, they also dropped their claim for $1.6 billion in damages. ...

Full story continues here, courtesy of the Boston Globe.

From World Cup To High Court

Kicking Back comments:
Below is a follow up regarding of the T&T players suing the T&T FF over an agreement from the 2006 World Cup. One thing interesting outside the story to me, are some of the comments in both stories from the readers. If true they will serve as fertile ground for further discussion on topic.

From World Cup To High Court

It was the morning of October 5, 2006 when the "Soca Warriors" finally received word on bonuses promised to them by Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) special adviser and FIFA vice-president Jack Warner--now the Minister of Works and Transport in the People's Partnership Government--for their historic qualification for the Germany World Cup.

At the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain, the jaws of more than a dozen young men sagged and faces contorted as a contingent returned from the TTFF headquarters with news of their financial reward.

"How they came up with that?" asked one player.

Full story continues here, courtesy of Trinidad Express Newspapers.

T&T Players Win Suit Over T&T FF - Warner Must Be Fuming

Kicking Back comments:
Special thanks to Melissa Lawrence for tweeting this one.

Jack Warner (FIFA VP and CONCACAF President) certainly can not be happy by the ruling recently handed down, upholding an agreement between several T&T World Cup players and the T&T Football Federation. Note the time frame here, these players have been fighting to enforce the agreement they entered into prior to the 2006 World Cup.

High Court backs payments for Soca Warriors: ...TTFF ordered to honour 2006 W/Cup agreement

The Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) was accused of time-wasting and ordered by Acting Justice Devindra Rampersad to honour its agreement to pay bonuses to the 2006 World Cup football team, dubbed the "Soca Warriors", and legal costs, which are expected to be in excess of $3 million.

On November 19, 2008, the TTFF filed a stay of proceedings in the High Court that prevented the 16 players—since reduced to 14—from enforcing the judgment of the London-based Sport Dispute Resolution Panel (SDRP), on the grounds a supposed breach of confidentiality by the claimants "severely undermined" the defendants' faith in the SDRP and, as a result, "they no longer agree to be bound by the agreement".

See the full story here by Lasana Liburd, courtesy of Trinidad Express Newspapers.

Ex-FIFA referee looks at Germany-Serbia officiating and Klose's ejection

The author of this article, L. E. Eisenmenger (as seen on http://soccerlens.com/) has reached out to me over concerns of correctly citing the authorship of this work.


As stated in the "legal stuff" portion of this blog, Kicking Back is dedicated to respect of copyrights and wants to get these issues right.


While Kicking Back does not believe any violation has occurred, this particular post has been removed for the time being until such redaction or (optimally) additional permission is secured to re-post in full ... as this is a truly excellent article.


Stay tuned for more, and thanks for reading.

Say WHAT!?!?

So here is a funny story for you regarding just what an impact small gestures and non-verbal communication have.

Over this last week or so I have had the pleasure to be sitting at a bar review class, specifically for those who wish to practice before the USPTO in matters of patent law. The only way to be admitted for practice is through a brutal exam (the "Patent Bar") that spits up and chews out about 50% of those who take it and has done so year on year in varying degrees for some time now.

This class (by PLI) was held at Suffolk University School of Law in downtown Boston, a truly beautiful setting and school. So instead of trying to commute for these days, about an hour each way, just to sit in class for about (11) hours a day, I stayed in town nearby.

So about 7:30 in the morning I was walking to class on a Thursday and was passing by the Omni Parker House (a nice place if you get the chance to visit) and there was a very nice sedan there with a driver waiting to pick up someone. It was clear the driver's client was about to arrive as he was waiting there, door open, very attentive and ready to go. I admit I slowed my pace just a little to see who was going to pop out of the Omni ... I am a little bit of a voyeur, and while not a "star watcher", I am a people watcher and looked to see what would develop.

What happened next was not what I would have expected.

A meter man (masculine of maid) sauntered by and caught the eye of the driver who was illegally parked, albeit for the legitimate reason of waiting for his fare. The next exchange was priceless.

Meter man looked at Driver ... Driver pointed at the open door indicating his fare was imminent ... Meter man  tapped his citation book ... Driver closed the door and drove off. Not a single word was spoken.

It was fantastic. I think I audibly said "wow" too. Yes, I am a dork.

Now, am I suggesting that tapping your pocket where you keep your caution is a good mechanic to warn a player? No, I am not. In fact I particularly dislike that mechanic personally, but have seen it used with effect.

What I am saying is that when you have an understanding with a player, or a team, a lot of talk may mean nothing, a simple gesture may get it done without more. A palm in the "stop" position is a very powerful hand signal, and usually gets the point across even without a word.

Next time you are out, focus on your NON-VERBAL communication and see what you can accomplish without saying a word. By doing this, you are quietly building your arsenal of ways to help control a match using a minimalist approach.

Like with other things in life, starting small and working your way up leaves you options if you need them later. If all goes well however, the "worst" non-verbal cue you'll need, is a smile. =)

FREEDOM !!!!!!

Some of you may remember the post of the ladies in orange dresses that FIFA detained and arrested for suspected "ambush marketing".

Well justice has been served.

After a proceeding in a "World Cup Court" the ladies were freed as apparently FIFA did not want to proceed with the action. [My personal opinion is that there was absolutely no basis for the charges, so they had no choice]

A settlement was reached during the proceedings [My personal opinion is they had to pay the court costs and not speak to the media - FIFA likely got nothing] and the ladies were on their way ... just in time for the upcoming Cameroon match.

Any bets they will try this again? I mean who is going to wear orange at a Netherlands match ... what are the chances?

Full story is here, courtesy of Mail & Guardian.

England fan barred from World Cup matches

A British soccer fan who burst into the England team's World Cup changing room in Cape Town on Friday night, was on Sunday banned from attending any further matches when he appeared briefly in the Cape Town World Cup court. ...
Full story here, courtesy of Mail & Guardian.


There is more here than meets the eye though I am noticing. Take a look at the snippet above "... in the Cape Town World Cup Court." What the heck is a World Cup Court?


Well folks, there is one, or should I say, a system of them set up in South Africa to handle "World Cup offences". No, no, this is not for the players, although some of the acting on the pitch I would opine is criminal lately. This is to help curb the crime in the country during the World Cup.


I am researching this now, but has anyone heard of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Special Measures Act 2006? Me either, but here is a link to the bill (now law from what I can tell) to it for those interested. I'll report back when I have more info dug up on this ... but on the surface, just a question:

Why is FIFA setting up a criminal trial court system in another country?

It's a matter of perspective ...

For those of us who have followed, and follow the adventures of the star ship Enterprise, the image to the left may be familiar. It is from the second season, and is episode #33, broadcast on October 6, 1967, Mirror - Mirror. A full briefing can be found here.

This episode goes into an alternate universe Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Uhura and their mis-adventures on the ISS Enterprise (as opposed to the USS Enterprise).

I can see the eyes rolling now, both from my wife and a certain FIFA AR that has been checking this blog out recently and understands my love of Trek lore, and asking ...

What's the point?

Things can look polarized at times, really one way, and not the other. But, if you stop and change your perspective, it can open up a world of possibilities.

Here is a little bit of a disclaimer, and a little bit of a glimpse into a behind the scene look into what is going on here at Kicking-Back. Both can be handled in one bite.

From a disclaimer standpoint, I want to be clear that I am not intending to give out any sort of referee advice that is sanctioned by US Soccer or the National Office. (Your crazy if you listen to me anyway) A far better forum for technical questions is here. This is a tremendous site that is moderated by who I would consider is one of the great minds of the game in the US, Jim Allen. He has quite a staff behind him too as noted in the about page. This team of folks have helped shape the referee program at the National level for some time, and is an excellent resource for questions about the laws and their application.

This blog is not intended to be instructional in nature in any official capacity. I do wear that hat when I am asked to referee a match or provide an opinion and advice to other referees and soon-to-be referees from an assessment standpoint, and maybe (likely) an instructional one.

This fora was originally conceived (over 50 posts ago!) and continues to be a free exchange of ideas that relate to refereeing in the context of the game, and the greater game of life. While it will contain specific advice and reference about the LOTG, it will in every aspect attempt to be technically correct and consistent with the advice given to us as referees ... and more.

I do hope however it provides more than text of the laws, or interpretations that are well understood. It is my intent to make people think about how small things, seemingly meaningless details at times, can make a big, big difference in the game, and life outside of the lines. There are others when it will be a repost of some event that may be relevant to what we are discussing at that time, or just something out of the blue that seemed fun. In all cases however, it is intended to be worth the read.

In short, I'm trying to get everyone to think a little off the beaten path. Sometimes it is just in the form of a reminder, sometimes it is just the ramblings of someone who has been there ... as so many of us have. We are after all, one community with many common experiences.

In all cases take the posts with the grain of salt they are intended to have standard with them. As a great assessor once told me, "Take what you like and use it. Just throw away the rest".

Who is JAFO?

As many of you have seen, there is a contributor listed named JAFO. A couple of readers have asked who that is. JAFO is someone who occasionally may contribute to the posts but wishes to remain anonymous. 

Again speaking from my legal training, the right to speak anonymously has been upheld again and again by the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS). One example for those who want to fall asleep is Talley v. California 362 U.S. 60 (1960) which stands for the proposition that "... identification and fear of reprisal might deter perfectly peaceful discussions of public matters of importance."

I believe we can operate within this fora in this manner without undermining its effectiveness. I am more willing to hide the identity of some contributors who do so in good faith and for legitimate reasons that not have these folks contribute at all, as their posts are valuable and provide a perspective I can not.

A historical example is Benjamin Franklin, his pseudonym Silence Dogood was a staple in James Franklin's paper the New England Courant. This middle aged widow character looked at the world through a particularly "cracked" lens and allowed Ben to protect himself from any public scrutiny that may result. Same here at Kicking-Back.

The name JAFO is actually an acronym.  If you really want to know what JAFO stands for, check out the 80's film called Blue Thunder.

Now one person who is not masking their identity is me, your humble host. I believe it is critical to have one "face" to show that we mean business and stand behind what is written here. As I have offered before, and I do so again now, if there are ideas for future entries, or a topic you want to spin up, please feel free to contact me here, or post directly to the blog entries, and we can make that happen.

FIFA Detains Women in Orange Dresses

You just can't make this stuff up ...

At last, a human rights cause to draw even the most rugby-obsessed Afrikaner into the World Cup: some Dutch-effect women have been detained for wearing orange dresses at Soccer City. Details of this rapidly developing international incident remain contested, with the oppressors (the young ladies) telling a slightly different tale to that being spun by the victim (Fifa). The fallout has seen ITV pundit Robbie Earle fired, and at this rate Prince Harry may well be implicated by dawn … but here are the facts, such as they can be established. ...


Full story here, courtesy of www.guardian.co.uk.

That's netting to joke about

Earlier we spoke about the critical need to inspect the ball, not only before the match but also during any change of a ball as required by the Laws of the Game [LOTG] (see pages 13, 21, and 77). Doing this small thing can save a match from going into disrepute.

Today, a quick comment regarding pre-game inspections and goal safety. While some areas of inspection are less critical than others, one that requires early scrutiny is the condition of the goals used during a match. Particularly, if these goals are properly anchored down. Here too this is a requirement of the LOTG (see pages 9 and 77).

This one is not about a game going into disrepute, this very simply is to save lives.

Don't believe me, look here for a blog entry from Mary Ellias of Virginia detailing the death of her 10 year old son Hayden tragically killed by a goal that fell on him. This post states in part , "What I remember seeing was our son lying face down lifeless on the ground".

A series of law suits were filed, and one of the named defendants was USSF. You can bet your badge that whoever was refereeing that match was asked some very upsetting questions.

That discomfort however is meaningless in comparison to the tragic loss of a young boy and the pain to his family and friends.

Next time your out refereeing, take an extra second, just one, to make sure the goals are anchored and appear safe. If they do not, my opinion is not to start that match until they are, or abandon it, if they can not be made so.

Check a goal - Save a life.

Was that blog, or Blago?

From the real to the unreal.

So, lots of folks have blog out there that say a bunch of neat things, and some covering topics that are, well, interesting. For anyone who has been following the tweets about the US National Team, there was a tweet today from USSOCCER  that pointed to the MNT Blog. For those of us who are ex-players, or just want to get a glimpse into what is going on, this is a good place. Particularly right now when the boys are in South Africa.

Here is another fun one from US Youth Soccer on an incredible array of topics that some will find interesting for certain.

Please read the disclaimer ... please ...

Being a technology professional, I am always on the look out for something cool or informative in the electronic frontier.

Being a legal professional, I am always leery of what I just saw, or shared, will get me into, or those I associate with, in trouble.

I think this some of these fall more in the latter than the former (somewhat).

Before proceeding, please take a moment and familiarize yourself with the Legal Stuff portion of the blog which basically says ... it's not my fault.

With that I ran across a referee section of a 2010 World Cup Blog that on the surface looked pretty good. I am interested to see what the authors have up their sleeve as some of their posts were both cutting, and funny.

Again, please read the disclaimer ... please ...