Load your Arsenal

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger to face FA rap after angry confrontation with match official at Sunderland

Arsene Wenger faces the threat of a Football Association charge after appearing to place his hands on fourth official Martin Atkinson after his side conceded a dramatic 95th-minute equaliser at Sunderland last night.

The Arsenal manager confronted Atkinson after Darren Bent had scored some 15 seconds after the allocated four minutes of injury time had been played, having initially laid hands on the official to attract his attention. ...

Full story here, courtesy of Mailonline.com.

Upgrade Kudos

Congratulations to Sam Mokalled on his upgrade to a grade 5 referee.

This particular move brings back very fond memories. Moving to, or retaining a grade 5 badge put you on the precipice of the heralded National Badge in the US and all the rights and responsibilities thereto.

Per aspera ad astra!

It's Official, MLS Does Not Care About Your Vote for GOTW

Kicking Back Editorial:

Once again MLS Rumors is at the fore when it comes to breaking some domestic news as once again the Goal Of The Weak Week (GOTW) has been tampered with.

It would also appear that MLS just does not care about it. Well, maybe they do just a little as they seem to be looking for a few professionals in the area as indicated by their jobs postings.

Take a look here for the story from MLS Rumors.

I know we are just talking about GOTW, but it would be such a simple thing to correct with CAPTCHA or something similar.

In the mean time ... I will refrain from voting as it clearly does not mean anything to them.

Cheating Is as Cheating Does

PK knows me well. I was reading his post just now and already making up my mind to weigh in even before he noted that I might.

I agree with most of PKs comments and need not re-state them here. I even agree that the umpire should not have changed his mind once he awarded the base, unless one of the other umpires stepped in to provide additional information.

But I might take exception to the comment that players are not to be blamed for taking advantage of umpire's mistakes. Yes, players are paid a lot of money to win and would receive criticism if they did not exploit every opportunity. But this criticism comes from their manager, not from the spectators. Managers have a vested interest in winning games, and they need the players' help to achieve that goal. Spectators like to see their team win too, but they want to see it done fairly. I do not ever recall a time when there was public denigration of a player for failing to cheat.

On the other hand, I can remember lots of players voluntarily disclosing a mistake to the umpire in order to keep the game fair, even to the point where it cost them the game. Golfers do this all the time, in fact a young kid from Wisconsin named Zach Nash had to turn back his medal for an inadvertent rules violation just last week. Sure he is not yet a pro, but it has happened at that level too, including Jim Furyk just last year.

Cheating is as cheating does. Please excuse the paraphrase of Forrest Gump, but I believe that our culture still prizes fair play, and that spectators do not wish to see their teams winning in an underhanded fashion. Whether we believe him or not, did anyone feel all the good about the discovery that Bill Belichick may have cheated by video-taping opposing signals during the 2007 undefeated season?


The game does belong to the players, and it is up to them what kind of game they wish to have.

Handball?

Photo Courtesy Boston Globe

For those who have not heard about this story, Derek Jeter when the Yanks were playing the Rays appeared to have gotten beaned with a pitch in the hands. A closer look showed that the ball hit the butt of the bat and not Jeter.

The plate umpire, Lance Barksdale (stats) told him to take his base for being hit. A trainer paid a visit to Jeter to check on him, but at the end of it all, Jeter took his base.

Joe Maddon, the Rays manager argued the call to the point of getting tossed for it, and at the end of the day the Rays won the game 4 - 3, and would appear to be (in the legal community would be called) "harmless error."

After the game, the real fun began with Jeter admitting he was not hit by the pitch and Maddon admitting he did not blame Jeter. No one openly faulted the umpire for the situation.

I did reflect on this a bit and there were a bunch of thoughts I had.

First, I noted that no one was openly castigating the umpire for the ruse. This is sharply contrasted in our game where referees are expected to be drama critics as well as arbiters of THE game. MLBs approach seems more sane to me. How can you hold an umpire, or any referee, responsible for the actions of a player who is purporting such an act? Now, this is not to say that the league should not later take action, such as a token fine for Jeter for his dishonesty to "steal" a base, not withstanding his piety later in the evening. Same holds true for FIFA and MLS who I know have taken action after the fact to an incident that required some further discipline.

Second, is that I agree with Jeter and Maddon. I don't blame either for their reaction. Mistakes happen, and there is no reason not to take advantage of them when they occur. This is one of the realities of any game played at that level. Participants are paid a lot of money, and would be sharply criticized if they don't take advantage of such situations.

Third, I agree with Barksdale's actions. He may have actually got clued into the fact that the ball did not hit Jeter somewhere between home plate and first base. Assuming he had the ability to change his mind once the base was awarded (JAFO may jump in here), it may not have been a good idea and may have actually undermined his authority and caused more issues if he brought Jeter back to the plate. Sometimes when you are committed, you have to roll with it. More than once in my career after I called a foul, a player would get up and smile in that knowing way that gave me the sinking feeling that they just stole one from me. My response, call the foul. To go back and untangle that mess can cause havoc.

Lastly, THERE ARE NO MAKE UP CALLS. Let's say you discover that you got juiced for a call (as I have many times). You can't make up a call the next time for the other team. This is patently dishonest and will instantly bankrupt your credibility with the players and coaches. Now, I have joked about it with players and even admitted that the player got one over on me, but, never, never, never make up a call. It turns a soccer match into a bartering session.

Keep in mind you are there not to be "fair" (one for red, one for blue), but rather to be "objective" (call 'em like you see 'em). Sometimes things are not even in a match, and a referee acting as one who tries to balance such a competition is asking for big trouble.

In my opinion, slap Jeter with a fine for cheating, or in the alternative make him *gasp* apologize for cheating, and leave the rest alone.

A story on the topic is here, courtesy of the Boston Globe.

Referee's to blame?

CFA Chief says China Referees to Blame for Bad Reputation

Comments from Wei Di, chief of the Chinese Football Association, raised eyebrows prior to the friendly international match between China and Iran on Friday 2 September 2010 at the Tianhe Stadium in China. ...

See the full post here courtesy of HK Referee.

UEFA GETS IT RIGHT !!!!!

WOW IS THIS REFRESHING!

Thanks to a loyal reader (thanks Jeff) I was pointed today to the UEFA refereeing page to find a story and video explaining the new five referee experiment made for the fans.

My initial reaction is how well done this is. A professionally produced spot that will run in stadiums and broadcast prior to a Champions League match.

Take a look at the video and story here, and tell me that this video banging on the "jumbotron" at your local stadium is not cool. Finally, finally, finally, something to get your blood going about refereeing. The closing line with Collina (who heads the UEFA referee program) is just fantastic.

Now, whether or not the experiment will succeed is a whole other story, and time will tell.

For now I am happy to see such a positive and public advertisement of what is going on. No need to keep it under the covers for folks to try to figure out. Well done!

Also, not lost on me was the quality of the materials provided on the site, as compared to FIFA on the same topic. While not surprised, I am amazed at just how wide a rift exists in the quality of materials. More on that soon.

For now, check out the article and video here.

What Will Solo Do?

WWSD?

For those who follow the US WNT, you may recall the tirade by Hope Solo, not Han Solo, National team GK, not smuggler turned hero, (background here, official web site here) back in 2007 against Greg Ryan after losing to Brasil 0-4 in the World Cup in China that put the US into the 3rd place match.

Her comments were aimed at Ryan's decision to replace her with Briana Scurry the night before the Brazil match. To be sure Solo was not the only one being critical of his decision. Other notables such as Brandi Chastain were also particularly vocal. A full account of the events can be found here courtesy of SFGate.com. It is worth noting, she offered somewhat of an apology on her Facebook page over the incident ... to her teammates.

Flash forward to August 2010 when Boston played Atlanta where Solo serves as GK where she accused Boston fans of being sexist and racist through their comments, which were apparently later validated and a very civil exchange of apologies occurred (source) between the teams, fans, and players. The whole incident was apparently chalked up to a handful of unsavory fans.

So while I believe there is no place in the game, or life, for such epitaphs, I also believe participants at that level have to grow a bit of a hide and be ready to suffer some public criticism, even some insulting behavior. The article talks about songs sung, and other organized chants. Well gee folks, when does it have to be sunshine and lollipops all the time, or in the alternative, silence? Has anyone gone to a match where the crowd chants "you suck" before the taking of a goak kick? How about this classic "A rope, a tree ... ." How many times has a 14 year old referee been told to go packing by a group of adults?

Flash forward to the other day where Solo goes after the league and referee. This one is almost laughable as her comments were odd, to say the least. [I have to admit a bias here as I have worked with Kari (Seitz) a number of times and found her to be a tremendous professional.] One of the more memorable quotes was:

"Its official, the refs are straight bad. Its clear the league wanted dc in playoffs. I have truly never seen anything like this. Its sad. ... I am done playing in a league where the game is no longer in control of the players."

What?
You can see the whole mess here on Twitter.

Now I am curious to see what the disciplinary committee will decide this week about the tweeted comments (and please see the full story for the whole thing) as it would seem that there is a threat of sorts in there that she won't play if she can't get her way. We will see how serious about the league is regarding such comments about referees, and frankly the league itself. 

Imagine if nothing happens and YOU are the next referee who gets the pleasure of seeing her. Imagine further for a second if the shoe was on the other foot. What would the league, or US Soccer do against a referee who shot their mouths off about a player?

It may seem inequitable, but it  is the reality. Keep in mind too, that THE game is bigger that any individual.

In any event, given the string of incidents it would certainly seem there is a loose cannon on deck. I am curious to see how this is dealt with as it effects the womens league, the WNT, and the referees as well.

Upgrade Kudos

Here is another referee that has performed exceptionally and has received an upgrade for their efforts.

I want to take just a second a recognize this individual that has distinguished themselves in this regard.

Congratulations to Max Perkins for his recent upgrade to Grade 7!

Just who led the FIFA delegation?

FIFA envoy is the only one benefiting from worldwide 'tour'

President of Chilean soccer federation is moving up fast in the sport's world governing body, but his travels to cities seeking to stage World Cups are nothing more than a dog and pony show.

Sometime on Monday, an aircraft will touch down in the United States and from it will emerge a shaggy-haired, 49-year-old former journalist from Chile by the unlikely name of Harold Mayne-Nicholls.

That's when the latest round of fawning will begin. ...

Complete story continues here, courtesy of latimes.com.

Girard's Law of 250

PK’s post this morning was a good one. There are hundreds of thousands of kids that will take to the fields this weekend, in small towns all across America. Many of them will be participating in their first game. Will their experience be a good one? Will they want to come back for more? Will they stick around long enough to get to the top?

Some time ago, I read a book about sales by Joe Girard in which he put forth something called “Girard’s Law of 250.” Girard asked lots of average people to sit down and make a list of all the people they knew and communicated with on a regular basis. The list was to include family, friends, co-workers, even the local grocers or anyone else with whom they were routinely in contact. Then Girard totaled up the number of names on each list.

Girard made an interesting discovery – on average, we each know and regularly talk with about 250 people! And every one of those 250 people know about 250 themselves! His point? Whatever opinion someone has of you will be shared with a lot of others.

Think about the opinions and impressions formed by new referees. One positive (or negative) comment from one knowledgeable person can make all the difference in the world to a young referee, and perhaps 250 of their friends and acquaintances.

Let’s try to keep them all coming back for more. The effects of our interactions with these youngsters go far beyond just one person.

Opening Day in Wrentham

With corruption week over, I am happy to move on to another topic. Today is an exciting day in our small town, fall opening day for the youth teams. It is a time to exercise my "cat herding" skills as assistant coach, but also serves as a great reminder about where the future of the game comes from.

Youth players and youth referees are not that far away from being the finished products we watch at the famous venues around the country, and the world in the big tournaments. Players and referees alike.

If you are out today watching a match, take a second and cheer an opposing player for a well played ball, or thank a youth referee for the job they did regardless of the result. It can make a difference in their career ... a big one. After all, you may be looking at the next US National team player, or FIFA Referee.

Spare the links, just give them the cuffs

So I have to admit that I do like suits and the accouterments that go along with them like braces (suspenders), pocket scarfs, and yes, cuff links. I was off looking for a soccer themed pair and ran across these guys pictured at the left. Really nice, and I may pick a pair up sometime. What I also found was another very interesting story from guardian.co.uk about, *gasp* more corruption where FIFA was involved.

The complete story is entitled, "Fifa investigates claims of Australian World Cup 2022 bid gifts." and goes into some details about the Australian bid committee showering FIFA delegates, and apparently their wives with gifts.

So let's face it, the World Cup is big business and there is a lot of money that changes hands. One figure of note: FIFA reportedly made approximately $3.2 Billion in ad revenue alone in the 2010 World Cup (source). So it is not a surprise that prospective host countries do everything they can to lure the Cup to their home soil. I write this without holding judgement on what actually happened as frankly, I don't know. This could be a simple gesture of good will. Heck, I have received gifts from teams after a match. It is a cultural thing, and should not be seen as anything other than a genuine token of appreciation. In fact in some situations, like in a locker room after a match, a referee shunning a small token of appreciation from a team is very bad form. So for me, no flies on Australia, yet, for offering small tokens of appreciation.

Now, pearl necklaces and handbags for the wives of FIFA officials may indeed breach that "small gift" criteria and may get the folks down under in some hot water. FIFA has launched another one of its famous investigations into the matter. I can't wait to see the letter they send Football Australia.

My laugh out loud moment was when I read the following from the article:

During a rocky period for the English bid last year, it faced criticism for giving the wives of each of the 24 Fifa executive committee members a Mulberry handbag.

The controversial Fifa vice-president Jack Warner returned his, claiming to have been "insulted" by the English bid team.

 Insulted Jack? Okayee ...


Take a few and check these out from guardian.co.uk, it paints part of the picture about just how hard folks work (above and below board) to get the Cup to their shores.


I hope the US delegation is working equally as hard.

Putting the "gold" back in the game?

FIFA may abolish extra time at World Cup

By Brian Homewood

BERNE (Reuters) - FIFA may abolish extra time at the World Cup with drawn knockout matches going straight to penalties, the federation's president Sepp Blatter said Thursday.

Blatter said in an interview with FIFA's web site (www.fifa.com) that too many teams had played defensively at the World Cup in South Africa and soccer's governing body would look at ways of encouraging more attacking tactics. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of Reuters Canada

Corruption week continues

I think MLS Rumors is turning into one of my favorite sites for some local flavor and fun stories. While not corruption per se, it somewhat seemed to fit. I caught this one the other day, how a faction of Seattle fans are upset about officiating in the league and are planning a protest on Thursday to demonstrate their displeasure.

Apparently this group runs a blog called the 12th Minute blog and has done a podcast to talk about how just how bad the officiating is in MLS. I could only get through the first few minutes, but will listen to the whole thing, I promise. Audio can be found on MLS Rumors and on the 12th Minute blog itself.

I have formed an opinion. I leave it to each of you to form your own.

THE quote however came form a comment to the story which stated:

Sounders FC Says:

Posted on September 7, 2010 at 2:58 pm

I love all these people saying something needs to be done. What do you think they can do ?? Do you think there are better quality referees who are sitting at home waiting to get the call or do you think we are going to somehow persuade the better referees from around the world to come and referee in MLS ? Despite all the training in the world there is always going to be an element of mistakes in soccer refereeing – it’s actually part of the charm of the game (although I agree it’s very annoying when it goes against you). There really isn’t much they can do in the short term. You could all help by not yelling obscenities at the 14 year old kid refereeing your childs rec game at the weekend as he/she may grow up to be part of the solution if you don’t put them off

Pure genius, and one who is clearly thinking beyond MLS to understand what it will take to get referees advanced in this country.

Well played Sounders FC, well played!

Taking a breath away from corruption week ...

Some pretty cool stuff going on in NY/NJ today.

FIFA inspection team hit the ground. Some highlights can be found at:

www.gousabid.com and Some nice comments from Studio 90.

It just keeps getting better.

Kicking Back comments:

As many of us are aware, information is power, and selling information can be quite a money maker. While I am fairly certain that this act is from a rogue individual or small group of them, what came out for me was how deep the ties are within FIFA's political community. I suppose this should not surprise me at all at the end of the day, it is big business after all.

To me the most telling part of the article is here:

Match Hospitality, owned in part by a media company run by Philippe Blatter, nephew of the Fifa president, Sepp Blatter, won exclusive rights to sell ticket hospitality packages at the 2010 and 2014 tournaments three years ago. The firm was criticised for over-pricing packages for this summer's World Cup, resulting in empty seats at most matches in South Africa.

Fifa in spotlight over passport identity theft claims

• Newspaper claims fans' details were sold on to touts
• Investigation into 'rogue employee' of Match Hospitality

An investigation is under way into allegations that the passport details of thousands of football fans were sold on the black market by an official linked to Fifa.

The Information Commissioner's Office, which regulates the Data Protection Act, confirmed it has launched an inquiry into claims that the details of 35,689 English fans who attended the World Cup in Germany in 2006 may have been sold unlawfully for profit. Preliminary investigations by the authority suggest that the details of 7,200 England fans have been traded illegally. ...

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

MLS *REALLY* losing control now!

Kicking Back Comments:
Following is an excellent editorial piece from MLS Rumors as a follow up to their post the other day regarding the Goal Of The Weak Week (GOTW) fixing incident. It's funny too as what I have queued up for today was discussion about a FIFA corruption incident ... in fact there are a pair. One older news, one new.


I guess it is turning into corruption week here at Kicking Back, and happily, none have to do with referees. While sad in a way that there is corruption in THE Game, it makes me slightly happier that it is coming from a source that is not a referee. We get blamed enough for everything else after all =)


As the article indicated, Commissioner Garber is on Extra-Time this Tuesday, and we will see what he has to say, if anything, about the MLS response to the incident.


EDITORIAL: Why Would AT&T Want to Be Associated With Flawed System? MLS Censorship, Secrecy and Soccer in The USA

Stories disappearing, comments removed at will. It seems all in a days work at MLSSoccer. It is indicative of  a league hasn’t learned how to properly deal both “Web 2.0″ and social media and a league which has never learned how to properly deal with bad P.R.

We saw it for the very plainly last week when Columbus Crew fans upset with comments from MLSSoccer.com writer Simon Borg last week commented on the power rankings he posted and had their Facebook comments removed. Matchfit USA ran a good story on that incident but in a nutshell: ...

Full editorial continues here, courtesy of MLS Rumors.

MLS losing control?

If you are asking about their web site, the answer to some is a resounding YES!

Kudos to MLS Rumors who broke this story about how the MLS Goal Of The Week (GOTW) has been tampered with by some (very) knowledgeable fans, and assisted by a seemingly very poor quality web site from MLS.

Also, if you read the comments posted, this apparently is not new to most avid MLS'ers. Go figure. One particularly humerous comment stated:

wait. are you telling me that something about the wonderful league website mlssoccer.com is screwed up, amateurish, or down right stupid? i am shocked. shocked i say. and in other news: water is wet, the sun is very hot and the sky is up.

Ouch.

Now I am not going to go all grassy knoll, but it is worth asking the question if MLS has known about this ... or is participating condoning the acts? Just a question, and not a statement or accusation. (MLS legal please take note.)

For now apparently the page for this weeks GOTW is down and MLS may be rethinking its technology choices to avoid such obvious tampering in the future.

I highly recommend reading the full article here, courtesy of MLS Rumors.

Sad to see him go ...

Photo courtesy sporting-heroes.net

Brian McBride (background) has set his retirement at the end of the 2010 season.

I personally have had a number of interactions with Mr. McBride and they have always been tremendous. He is a first class person, who is also exceptionally talented.

While there is not enough ink in my proverbial pen to write about his accomplishments, a very nice synopsis can be found here, on the Chicago Fire web site.

He is in my opinion one of the modern greats. More professional athletes should comport themselves the way Mr. McBride has done throughout his career.