Thy Cup Runnith Over

Kicking Back comments:
Special thanks to Dan O'Leary to sending this along for posting.


Following is an interesting article regarding one of the physiological aspects of refereeing, specifically about the human brain. While KB believes the author brackets the article poorly, analogizing the Lampard incident with some physiological failing (Dammit Jim, I'm an engineer, not a doctor!), instead of the positioning catch 22 that was discussed in Bye-Bye Uruguay, the article is very good at discussing the human capacity and how it intersects with refereeing. Certainly a good read to inform (or remind) us just how far we as humans can go ... for now.

Even referees' brains have their limits

DETROIT (Reuters) - It was the World Cup goal seen around the world but missed by the eyes that mattered most: England midfielder Frank Lampard's shot that dropped cleanly past the German goal line but was not given by the referee.

The avalanche of complaints about that missed call and others during the largest soccer tournament in the world raised the philosophical question of whether instant-replay technology improves games or turns them into soulless events run by a bank of blinking lights.

Scientists who study the human brain say it is surprising that bad calls do not happen more often. ...

Full article continues here, courtesy of Reuters Canada.

I Love It When A Plan Comes Together

You know him, you love him. John "Hannibal" Smith leader of the A-Team (played by George Peppard).

For those that do not have a clue about the reference, here is a Wikipedia entry on the topic.

What Hannibal was famous for was always having a plan going  in to a situation. Granted, that plan may not get followed by the end of the episode, but at least there was a starting point.

This is diametrically opposed to Indiana Jones (played by Harrison Ford), another one of my fictional heroes (and who was just at Comic-Con, for those that follow that stuff) who is known for his "figuring stuff out on the fly" mentality.

So why do I bring this up at all?

Well, I was poking around the FIFA site and came across the background paper for the additional AR experiment I blogged about the other day. There were a couple of interesting points in it. For those interested, the document can be located here on the FIFA site.

First was the depth of the paper, which was really non-existent. I was surprised for such (at least in my head) a dramatic change that it was light on detail. Of the (3) page document there was about (1 1/2) pages of true background, a (1/2) page picture and about (1/2) page of substance.

The instructions were interesting too. In essence there are (2) more ARs opposite of the "real ARs", they carry no flags, yet have a radio to communicate, and are there, it would seem, mostly for fouls. Frankly it is not clear but is strongly implied with the position directions given in the memo.

Interesting however that ARs will be used in these cases (this is explicit in the memo) and not referees. This is odd to me as you are asking the folks dedicated to calling offsides now calling probably the most tactical fouls on the pitch ... in the attacking 1/3 and behind the referee.

Don't get me wrong, ARs are more than capable, especially the ones I have had the pleasure to work with. I am just curious about the choice.

Another thing that struck me was the on field presence of these folks. There was no talk of "off the field help". I am not surprised, but would be if it remained that way after the IFAB meeting in October.

I applaud FIFA for experimenting as it is clear they need to in order to continue to elevate the game. That said I am a traditionalist and the "3 man system" is very effective when done correctly, and with the augmentation of technology or even a booth official of sorts, may make it that much better. While not traditional per se, it will do more good than harm in my opinion.

My only hope is that FIFA thought this one through and is approaching this in more of a "Hannibal" method than an "Indy" one. Both will get results, no doubt, but if a controlled experiment is what they are after, to make a decision about the future of refereeing as we know it, the details in the background paper were a little thin to give me confidence that this will be the case. I will be interested in the days ahead to watch some of these matches and see how effective this strain of the "4 man" system is.

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.

Kicking Back Exclusive: Referee Development Night with the Revolution

Once in a great while an opportunity to "get inside the head" of the folks who are about to referee and assess a professional match comes around. Such an opportunity is here.

On Saturday August 28th, prior to the Revs v. Philly match, The Massachusetts State Referee Committee in cooperation with the New England Revolution will provide such an opportunity to the Massachusetts refereeing community at large.

This session will include clubhouse access prior to the match and involve a discussion what the referee team and assessor will prepare, and be on the lookout for during the match. Guest speakers will include various staff members of the MSRC along with and anticipated visit from an MLS referee and the In Stadium Observer (ISO) for the match.

Note that this interactive session will also qualify to meet the referee re-certification requirements of 2011 and on the lighter side will also feature the Rev Girls and some giveaways.

During the match, participants will sit in the stands and be invited to perform an analysis that will be submitted to MSRC. Kicking Back is in discussion with the MSRC to see if there is a way to anonymously post appropriate results here from the "group assessment" for educational purposes.

Full details are below, and more are forthcoming in the days ahead via E-Mail blasts from the MSRC and at massref.net.

For those who can not make it, Kicking Back will do a pre-match analysis here on the 27th, and also be reporting on the evenings events. However, seeing is believing.

To pre-enroll for this event, go to: www.massref.net

For tickets, call 1-877-GET-REVS and reference "Referee Development Night" to access discount.

Et tu, Brute?

Earlier in the week I opined about what Tony Hawyard and referees have in common ... which is they basically both get blamed for things that are nearly completely out of their control. Well in a very similar vein, and very relevant to our discussions here, are how players are treated at times for things that are completely out of their control.

Take a look at the story below from Justin McCurry of the Guardian, describing the excoriation the North Korea team, and what they had to endure after coming home from the World Cup. My statement in a vacuum is not political in nature, but the reality is that politics of that region, or regime, plays a role no doubt in what happened in how poorly these players were treated after the fact.

It also makes be briefly reflect on Capello and his index, and if there would have been the same amount of "outrage" if the UK had fared better.

So while referees are certainly a favorite target of unjustified outrage, we certainly do not stand alone as the North Korea team has joined us apparently, for the time being.

North Korea's failed World Cup footballers undergo public mauling

Footballers subjected to six-hour excoriation on stage for 'betraying' North Korea and Kim Jong-il's son and heir

England's failed footballers should count themselves lucky that their ignominious World Cup exit was met with little more than a public mauling by the media.

Their counterparts from North Korea, who lost all three of their group games, have been subjected to a six-hour excoriation for "betraying" the communist nation's ideological struggle, according to reports.

There are even fears for the safety of the team coach, Kim Jung-hun, who was accused of betraying the son and heir of the regime's "dear leader," Kim Jong-il.

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

FIFA and Their Petri Dishes

IFAB approves additional assistant referee experiment

The Technical Sub-Committee of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) approved several requests from member associations and confederations to implement the experiment with two additional assistant referees during the 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 seasons at a meeting held today, Wednesday, 21 July 2010 in Cardiff, Wales. The full list of approved requests can be found below.

At a previous Special Meeting of the IFAB held in Zurich on 18 May 2010, the Board had reviewed the experiment with two additional assistant referees that was carried out in the 2009/2010 UEFA Europa League, and had decided to continue the experiment until the 126th IFAB Annual General Meeting in 2012, but not to limit it to a single confederation. Therefore, confederations and member associations wishing to conduct this experiment were invited to inform IFAB of their interest for a decision to be taken at the meeting of the Technical Sub-Committee in Wales.

Full story continues here, courtesy of FIFA.com.

World Cup Final Analysis - Part Deux

Earlier in July the Massachusetts State Referee Committee provided match analysis of the World Cup Final written from two perspectives; One from a coach, one from a referee.

To summarize these analysis, each was edited to fit to approximately 700 words. However the full blown analysis was more in depth in both cases. Each is provided below for your reading enjoyment.

Special thanks to Glenn Buckley for authoring the coaches analysis, and Mike Singleton and Tom Goodman for their support from Mass Youth.

Special thanks also to Andy Weiss from the MSRC for hatching this one and making it happen.


World Cup Final 2010 Executive Analysis can be seen here, courtesy of Massref.


Full analysis from Glenn Buckley, Mass Youth Development Coach, is here, courtesy of Mass Youth.


Full analysis from Peter Kokolski, National Referee Emeritus, is here, courtesy of Kicking Back.

Iran Attacks Paul the Octopus

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attacks Octopus Paul

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian leader, says Paul the Octopus, the sea creature that correctly predicted the outcome of World Cup games, is a symbol of all that is wrong with the western world.

The Iranian president accused Octopus Paul of spreading 'western propaganda and superstition' Photo: REUTERS/EPA

Full story continues here, courtesy of telegraph.co.uk

Kicking Back has no formal comment on the matter.

What Tony Hayward and referees have in common.

As many if you know, I am a political junkie and follow current events in that vein. So I was reading a BBC story about Tony Hayward's comments as he is transitioning out of the CEO role at BP, and is being replaced by  Bob Dudley (full story here, courtesy of the BBC). It goes into how Hayward feels "demonized and vilified", over what is going on in the gulf.

How often has that happened to a referee? I would say, almost always.

Take a look at the recent story of the Chinese fan running onto the field and attacking the refereeing crew. One of the coaches blamed the referee. Are you serious?

How about this one where the Dutch blame Webb for the loss in the recent World Cup final.

My favorite of all time is Phil Luckett. Anyone know him? NFL referee extradornare who had the guts to follow the rules during a coin toss on November 26, 1998 when the Pittsburgh Steelers were playing the Detroit Lions. Yep, this is where Jerome Bettis called "hea-tails" during the coin toss, Luckett when with "heads" as per the rule of the game, the first call uttered is the one to be used. You all know the rest of the story, Steelers lose the toss, and eventually lose the game.

Luckett was certainly demonized and vilified in Hayward like fashion with "The Bus" leading the charge. Bettis did become just a little more contrite however when sideline audio was unearthed of him explaining to Bill Cowher (coach at the time) that he did say "hea-tails". Classy stuff. Talk about (ahem) being thrown under a bus ... sorry.

There is so much of an appetite to blame someone else that AskMen.com has an article about the Top 10: Bad Referee Calls. By the way, Chavez buddy is at #3 for his handling that turned into a goal back in 1986.

Why is all of this stuff the referee's fault? Why is what happened in the gulf Hayward's fault? I have to believe that Hawyard's knowledge of the platform in the gulf was in the aggregate how much money it was making. That's what CEO's of big multi-national companies do ... watch the bottom line.

Similarly referees are there to uphold the laws of the game and apply them as required. Why is it up to a referee to keep a player from cheating as Maradona did? Why should a referee take lumps because a player does not have the courage to tell his coach he screwed up a coin toss? I don't get it.

Maybe the referee is an easy target for those who choose to shirk responsibility for their, or their teams own actions. Maybe the referee is there for the good of the game as is just so magnanimous that they should just take it. Maybe we are too stupid to give it back to those who have earned the blame. I don't know.

I guess I would really like to see players and coaches step up a bit more and really look at the issue before speaking. Just like I would like to see the "O Team" take a step back from Hayward and look at the issue.

Don't get me wrong, referees screw up plenty, and the really good ones cop to it right away and the game is better for it.

Just ask Jim Joyce.

Karate Kid?

Kicking Back comments: I happened to run across this story Monday and a couple of things flashed through my head. First, was the manager blaming the referee for the incident ... the whole incident, including the fan running out onto the pitch. (This has to be the textbook definition of "intervening cause") Second, was as the story cites, "... about 100 ... fans smashed up a car they believed belonged to the referee ...". Who wants to bet the fans got that one wrong? Story continues below.

Chinese football fan karate kicks ref

A fan enraged by two quick red cards shown to the Qingdao Chinese Super League club at the weekend registered his annoyance by launching a karate kick at the referee and shoving a linesman.

The incident dealt another blow to the image of Chinese football, which is widely considered to be corrupt and riven with violence both on and off the pitch.

Slovenian forward Aleksander Rodic was the first Qingdao player given his marching orders after picking up a second yellow card for diving in the 67th minute of the 2-0 loss to Shanghai Shenhua on Sunday.

See the full story (and video!) here, courtesy of itn.co.uk

Funny what you find when you are not looking

For those faithful readers who want to know how the loop was closed on the Germany v. Serbia interview, here it is ...

As you can see from this AM post the article regarding the interview with Angelo Bratsis is up, and a link as well to examiner.com. In discussing the details of re-posting this article I got the opportunity to communicate with the author,  LE Eisenmenger, fairly extensively over the course of the day and learned a couple of things.

First, that the sites that LE writes for are excellent, as is the authored content by LE. I strongly encourage readers (if they are not aware of these sites) to go to both Soccerlens.com (specific articles by LE are here) and The Boston Pro Soccer Examiner.

Second, not all that long ago I was waxing about how media is part of the equation regarding popularity in the US, well the game clearly has a friend, as these posts range the spectrum from reporting on individual matches itself, to the more revealing look at the sport, and what goes into it.

Take a look, it is worth the time.

With any luck Kicking Back will find an excuse to collaborate with LE and we can really put our heads together on something.

Have a though about that? Please post it below!

Interview with Angelo Bratsis on Germany-Serbia officiating

The following article was published by examiner.com on 21-JUN-2010, and authored by LE Eisenmenger.

Kicking Back comments: Following is an interview of Angelo Bratsis (see brief bio here) from 21-JUN-2010 discussing the Germany v. Serbia match and in particular the ejection of Klose. In reading, again think locally, as there are some very fertile points here for matches on any given Sunday. Article from examiner.com continues below.

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

Questionable officiating in high-profile 2010 World Cup matches such as Germany-Serbia and USA-Slovenia tarnish FIFA’s tournament. Germany (Group D) lost 1-0 to Serbia after referee Alberto Undiano Mallenco ejected Miroslav Klaus early with a second harsh caution. Undiano called the game tightly from the whistle, issued nine cautions overall and his heavy hand affected the quality of the highly anticipated match. After an outstanding performance in their 4-0 win over Australia, now Klose must serve a suspension and Germany’s future in World Cup is compromised.

For insight into the officiating of the Germany-Serbia match, I spoke with Angelo Bratsis, ex-FIFA referee for the United States and CONCACAF for 12 years.

LE: What did you see in referee Alberto Undiano’s officiating of Germany-Serbia?

Bratsis: I try not to be overly critical of referees, but I do have a lot of questions in my mind when I look at the game. Where does the referee work, what league? What level? How many years has he been around? Well, he’s been on the FIFA list since 2004, so he’s very, very experienced. He’s 36 years of age, a sociologist by trade. He has worked in many, many qualifiers, he works in the Spanish league, one of the best leagues in the world - this is where he works week in and week out. For years he’s been exposed to the highest possible level of players from all over the world. He’s not a rookie, he’s been exposed to high-pressure games, and should have been better prepared having the opportunity not many referees have to work in a league like the Spanish league.

I’m questioning his approach to the game, his total tactical and technical approach to the game. Any referee – I don’t care what referee – any referee that needs nine yellow cards to control a game, I have a very serious problem with that. I question his foul selection, foul discrimination. I question whether he can differentiate between an acceptable foul at that level that players don’t mind, accept, a foul that is careless - and a foul that is reckless. If he can’t distinguish between careless and reckless, he’s got a serious problem. A careless offense is just a simple foul, just a simple free kick and some of the calls he made are just simple, simple, simple fouls. When he turns a simple foul into a reckless, borderline excessive foul and feels that he needs to have a disciplinary action attached to that, I question that.

LE: Do you think he was consistent in his calls?

Bratsis: He was not consistent, he was very tight and relied on cards to control the game. Anybody who does that I question his management skills, his ability in that particular game, understanding who’s playing and what they’re playing for and what’s at stake and the degree and severity of each offense committed on the field. In the first half [Undiano] was very, very quick on the draw, so to speak. In the second half he started taking his time and thinking about whether he should take additional action against certain offenses, so I think he was a little bit more tuned in to the game than he was in the first half.

Usually at halftime referees talk about what’s going on out there, maybe get some advice from his ARs and the fourth official and adjusts his approach to the game. What do you guys see? What am I doing right, what am I doing wrong? And they make necessary adjustments. So if you monitor the second half you have Undiano approaching the game a little differently.

Full article by LE Eisenmenger continues here, courtesy of examiner.com.

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.

Special thanks to CW Rice for finding this gem of an article.

Steady Growth for Soccer in U.S.

The vuvuzelas have gone quiet, the national flags have been put away, and the cable sports networks are back to talking about baseball. But the World Cup in South Africa has left its mark on soccer in the United States, and, if pattern holds, it will help the sport continue to grow in this country.

Even though the American team had long since left the tournament, more than 24 million fans watched the championship match, between Spain and the Netherlands, on ABC and Univision, a figure more than the average viewership for last year’s World Series games between the Yankees and the Phillies.

Midfielder Landon Donovan became a household name thanks to his on-field exploits for the United States. Americans bought more tickets to World Cup games than fans from any country other than South Africa, and more than half a million fans are expected to see Europe’s best teams play in the United States this summer, including the 44,213 who saw Manchester United beat the host Philadelphia Union, 1-0, on Wednesday at Lincoln Financial Field.

Article continues in full here, courtesy of The New York Times.

Hugo Chávez breaks diplomatic ties between Venezuela and Colombia

While not a soccer story per se, I just about fell out of my chair when I saw this picture. Yes, that is sporting legend, and current Argentina Soccer Coach Diego Maradona joking with Hugo Chavez as he announced the severing of ties with Colombia. Yes, the very same press conference.

Let me say no more than I find this an interesting pairing on many levels. Your comments are welcome below.

Diego Maradona and Hugo Chávez share a joke during a press conference in which the Venezuelan president severed ties with Colombia. Photograph: Juan Barreto/AFP/Getty Images

Hugo Chávez severed diplomatic ties with Colombia yesterday after it accused Venezuela of harbouring leftist guerrillas in dozens of camps along the border.

Venezuela's president ordered a "maximum alert" on the border and warned that his Andean neighbour could provoke war. "We have no other choice but, out of dignity, to totally break our relations with our brother nation of Colombia," Chávez told state television.

Colombia had claimed that Venezuela was sheltering 1,500 rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) and the smaller National Liberation Army (ELN), which have waged a decades-long conflict with the Colombian state.

Colombia presented maps, photographs, videos and witness testimony in a presentation at a meeting in Washington of the Organisation of American States, a pan-regional body.

Full story continues here, courtesy of Guardian.co.uk.

... and not wasting any time. Using Wise Words

Just the other day I waxed briefly about non verbal communication and how it can be employed and how useful it may be. Here is a post from For the Integrity of Soccer that is well worth the read and goes into the verbal communication.


Words to the wise: Use wise words.
You have to be a bit careful when talking to players about possible misconduct.  It's fine to make your point, but at the same time you don't want to make matters worse, especially if you have been having running exchanges with the particular player. ...


Full article continues here, courtesy of For the Integrity of Soccer.

For the Integrity of Soccer

Recently I have been E-Mailed a series of truly excellent articles from a truly excellent blog:

For the Integrity of Soccer

Similar to Ask A Soccer Referee, For the Integrity of Soccer is purveyed by folks with impeccable credentials and is authored and frequented by FIFA panel members on down the line. It is worth the time to read.

I have started to capture such links and they are now posted on the right pane of the blog for easy reference. I will from time to time, report articles that I believe are particularly impactful here for this audience.

If there are other such blogs of refereeing note that you believe are worth posting, please post a comment, or contact me and I will make sure they make there way up.

In the mean time, stay tuned here, and we'll do our best to post the best we find.

A special thank you ...

So as life returns to crazy normal for me (as opposed to crazy crazy) and I get my thoughts together from the Region I tournament, I wanted to begin with a thank you. Over that faithful week in traversing from Boston to Barboursville and back again I learned more than a few things about myself, some others, and the game.

I want to extend a very special thanks to the entire refereeing and assessing team and administrators of the Massachusetts delegation.

For reasons I will detail in due time, I have just about not looked at a soccer ball for a period of time ... a somewhat long period of time. Some very smart administrators however saw me poke my head out of the sand about just wee much and promptly grabbed me. Kudos to them for recognizing when to strike with me. There was of course the matter of the "rubber meeting the road" however. Getting involved is one thing, being accepted for it can be another.

To say that I was worried about just how far the world has turned since I stepped off my Merry-Go-Round is an understatement that bears recognition to me. I was unaware, and very anxious just how folks were going to react to me returning in this context. Be assured that anxiety remains quite strongly in other contexts to this very day.

Those fears were completely relieved at the airport out to Barboursville. It was so rewarding to have the opportunity to be with such a group of talented individuals, and from the very jump, to be able to interact with them as a peer. I was then, and am now in reflection, humbled and thankful by their generosity, to the last.

So please let this be our entry point into the Region I tournament through my lens ... that of a former referee at this tournament, turned assessor.

Next stop ... when old red shirts turn blue.

Germany Rejects Spain's Bid To Buy Octopus Oracle

Octopus oracle Paul's prescience wasn't needed to predict how this one would turn out: His aquarium in Germany on Friday gave a resounding "nein" to a bid to move the celebrity mollusk to Spain.

Paul rose from obscurity in Oberhausen's Sea Life aquarium during the World Cup to international celebrity as he correctly called the outcome of Germany's seven matches in the monthlong tournament, time and again picking a mussel from a tank marked with the flag of the would-be winner.

He also correctly predicted Spain would beat Germany in the semifinals — prompting many in his home country to speculate how he would taste grilled in garlic butter.

Already a celebrity in Spain after the semifinal prediction — Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero offered to send a security team to protect the 2 1/2-year-old floppy octopus from the hungry Germans — the country went wild for him after he correctly tipped Spain over the Netherlands in the finals.

Paul is now so popular in Spain that a northwestern Spanish town tried to borrow him. Officials in O Carballino, population 14,000, declared that the octopus is their "honorary friend" and wanted Paul's presence to promote a seafood festival, the Faro de Vigo newspaper said.

Full story here, courtesy of NPR.