NFL to take a play out of the MLS playbook

I am shocked ... and this is not sarcastic play.
I am genuinely shocked.

The NFL just now is deciding to have a weekly conference call with its officials to discuss points of emphasis, as reported here by ESPN.

My very first reaction was, "you mean these guys were not doing this already?"

My very next though was how reactive this was given the several incidents that occurred in the last couple of weeks on the grid iron. My thoughts went then to the above though that I was surprised it has not been done before.

Wash - rinse - repeat.

Since MLS was around, referees, and in some cases ARs, have a weekly call to discuss the previous week, and to hear any additional points of emphasis for the following week.

It was not uncommon for an individual referee to have to explain an incident to the whole of the call as to what happened and the "behind the scenes" and why.

These were excellent calls, and I can speak from experience they were very humbling when it was my turn (yes I was indeed called on the carpet once) to stand up and explain how I screwed up and how it could be done better for the next referee.

Let me repeat, I am shocked the NFL is not doing this.

While I am at times critical of US Soccer, this is an area in which they shine ... and outshine the NFL. Instructional material.

For those who have not done so, visit the Week In Review, and poke around. Now THAT is instructional information. Paul, Herb, and the National Staff do an excellent job of preparing this information for general consumption.

So what compares for the NFL?

A simple recitation of the rules, no interpretation, no outreach, no nothing that I can see.

With the tens of billions of dollars that the NFL is worth, I am glad to see they putting some of that money to good use, and holding a weekly conference call for their referees ... now. Something the much less funded US Soccer and MLS has done over ten years ago, and continue to do today.

Better late the never I guess. I do wonder however what else the NFL can learn from MLS?

“the biggest gangster you will find on earth”

FIFA: Credibility crisis continues as former scribe affirms body’s corrupt

By Patrick Omorodion

As world’s football governing body, FIFA tries to get over the cash for vote bribe allegation which hit it a fortnight ago and has temporarily consumed two of its Executive Committee members, Dr Amos Adamu of Nigeria and Tahitian, Reynald Temarii, the body seems not to have heard the last of such stench of sleaze.

The latest which has really portrayed FIFA as a corrupt organisation is coming not from an outsider like the Sunday Times of London did, but from someone who was an insider and should know because he stated so to undercover reporters. ...

See the full story here, courtesy of Vanguard.

"Stains in your suit"

Scathing article from Monsters & Critics describing that dealing with FIFA "always stains your suit", and just how far reaching the corruption goes within the organization.

See the very unflattering (to FIFA) blow by blow here, courtesy of Monsters & Critics.

Goal?

Hilarius story from Running a Hospital about soccer, a turkey, and a goal.

All courtesy of Paul Levy.

Requiescat In Pace

Paul the Octopus: January 2008 - October 26, 2010.

News of his passing stunned the world today, as there were over 1500 articles about his death as of this writing.

He apparently died of natural causes in his tank overnight. A life expectancy of 2.5 year is not uncommon for some octopus species.

FIFA has announced it will not launch an investigation into Paul's passing, as their investigative arm is otherwise engaged in a corruption investigation for World Cup votes.

Just throw the flag

Simple is better.

I have felt that way most of my life about just about everything. In fact when I find myself trying to over-complicate things, my approach is to break it down into smaller, more manageable chunks to deal with.

During the day on Sunday I was watching week 7 of NFL games in earnest to wait for the first big helmet to helmet hit to see what the referees were going to do. I saw no such hit.

I did see a bunch of good legal hits, and even ones that I would have considered "on the edge." There was one trend I did notice however, the celebration of the defensive player who made such a hit, regardless of the gain that had just occurred.

This was odd to me, celebrating just tackling someone. Now I can see a sack being celebrated (tackling the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage when they are in possession of the ball), or a play that results in a turnover or similar possession change. But just a run of the mill tackle with such celebration?

It got weirder ...

After watching a few games I noticed that more than a few touchdown celebrations were very muted. A team that just scored, really did not celebrate.

Why?

I wonder if it is the NFL's current policy on "excessive celebration" that has something to do with it? Now I agree, there was a point in time when things were a bit out of control. Take TO's "sharpie gate" for one. It is tough to argue that end zone celebrations were going a bit too far, but has the NFL gone too far in instructing referees to decry ANY such activity?

Compare with today's game and the hits that are leveled on players, and the accompanying celebration. Is THAT going too far in the wrong direction? My answer is yes.

Today NFL referees are being asked to decide metaphysical questions regarding helmet to helmet hits. Did he mean it? What was the intent? All of this at warp speed.

My solution is simple to put a little sanity back in the game. If a player excessively celebrates after tackling another, penalize them for excessive celebration.

Still bust them for the helmet to helmet stuff, but also take some time to prevent the seeds of those types of hits from growing, by getting everyone to calm down, just a little.

Throw the flag.

Know before you go & the Law 7 fandango

I was first introduced to this particular phrase when I started flying small planes (yet another soccer story unto itself as I was introduced by current Massachusetts SRA, Andy Weiss). It refers to the fact that a pilot needs to know about the destination, and the route in between, before you even set foot on the tarmac. To do otherwise invites disaster. Over this last weekend I experienced such a scenario that illustrates this point, and how it was affected by the Laws Of The Game (LOTG). While it was not a disaster by any means, in another match, at another level, it would have been.

As we have discussed before, the LOTG allow for variation of the Laws themselves only in certain situations, they include:

• Size of the field of play
• Size, weight and material of the ball
• Size of the goal
• Duration of the periods of play
• Substitutions

Further modifications are only allowed with the consent of the International Football Association Board.

In this particular match (U-10), the referee played a 25 minute first half. The modified LOTG call for a 30 minute half. Here's when the interesting stuff happened.

To this referee's great credit, they thought they had made a mistake, and asked how long we typically played. While this had the effect of demonstrating to everyone that the referee was not sure about how much time was to be played, it also had the effect of a referee who genuinely wanted to do the right thing.

At this point the referee after playing 25 minutes, informed us that we were going to play a 30 minute second half.

I had to bite my lip a little.

Why? Because Law 7 requires "two equal periods". An excellent explanation is here at Ask A Soccer Referee.

So what could have the referee done, when they learned about the correct timing of the match to keep with the laws?

Play the rest of the first half.

This may sound weird, but to adhere to the laws and the rules of the competition, you have to march the teams back out from halftime and play the remainder of the first half. Then, and only then, can you begin the second half.

If you just begin the second half, and play equal periods (in this case another 25 minute half), then you breach the rules of competition by not playing the correct length match. This may give rise to a merited protest as well at it has nothing to do with the discretion of the referee. Not good.

If you extend the second half to the right duration (in this case a 30 minute half), then you breach Law 7 regarding "equal periods." As before, this may give rise to a merited protest as well at it has nothing to do with the discretion of the referee. Not good - again.

From this there are (2) things to keep in mind:

1. Know the rules of the competition BEFORE you take the field for a match.
2. Understand that Law 7 requires "equal periods", (this does exclude any extra time of course). Half, means half.

When in doubt, do what this referee did ... just ask. Be sure to do so BEFORE the first whistle though.

From the mouth of babes

Jr. and I were on our way to some event the other day and we were talking about his upcoming matches at the local indoor soccer facility near our town. He was generally excited, but stopped for a second, mid-description, and said something that make me think.

Jr.: You know what I really like about playing indoor?
PK: Because its fast paced?

Jr.: Nope. It's because of the referee. The one with the glasses.
PK: Really? What about him?

Jr.: He's very nice and takes time to help us when we have a question.
PK: Don't other referees do that?

Jr.: No. Only him so far.

Now I sat back and thought about all those youth matches I did, and wondered how those players perceived me. It was again a reminder that those little sponges out there are picking up on everything going on, and are taking notes along the way. Jr. has not seen this particular referee (who is really a nice guy) for almost a year, yet described him clear as a bell. Amazing.

It was also clear that the youth referee holds a particular responsibility in this regard as well, not only as ambassador of the game, but also teacher, as those little minds are looking to us as referees for how we treat the game, and its participants, in our position of authority.

I urge us all to teach them well. After all, they are the future of the game we all hold dear.

Upgrade Kudos!

As we have done here in the past, I would like again to congratulate the following referees who have recently been upgraded to Grade 7 (Referee 1st Class).

Congratulation to you all.

Kristen Sundberg
Genci Kutrolli
Zachary Levin
Jo-Ellen Rowley

Think it's just football ... think again

With the fervor about helmet to helmet contact in the NFL that we spoke about the other day, and the life long damage it can cause in an athlete, it can be easy to forget that concussions are a serious issue  in a sport such as soccer. It all too often is associated with sports perceived to be "rougher", like grid iron football.

Lori Chalupny, midfielder for the Atlanta Beat, and US National team has sustained several head injuries in her role, and may be forced to retire because of it. A good report from the Washington Post about how these injuries can manifest in a player and how debilitating they are.

Who really blew the call

So if anyone follows grid iron football, week 6 was interesting from the perspective that $175K in fines were handed out to (3) players for what has been termed "violent hits." I am not here to question the wisdom of the fines, although some did state that James Harrison makes $20 Million a year, and the $75K he was fined was a pittance to him. One funny point is that the NFL fined Harrison about 3 times what FIFA fined both Spain and the Netherlands (all players on both teams!!) for their poor behavior in the 2010 World Cup final.

What caught my eye were some of the comments from Ray Anderson, VP of operation for the NFL, who told SI.com that the referees missed it by not penalizing Harrison for unsporting like conduct after the hit to the Cleveland Browns Mohamed Massaquoi.

From the SI.com article:

The hit should have been flagged for Harrison whacking a defenseless receiver in the helmet, the kind of hit that was a point of emphasis this offseason for the league's 17 officiating crews. But it got no flag.

He's no dummy, and started to right the ship on the next comment, at least partially using the royal "we":

"We missed a call,'' Anderson said. "That call should have been made.''

So let me get this straight, the NFL has suddenly decided after (6) weeks they prefer their players conscious and that helmet to helmet hits are a bad thing, and in response, in relevant part, the VP of operations is blaming the referee.

Your kidding right?

The players and referees will go as far as the league will let them. That is the nature of the professional game, football or soccer. For a very long time NFL has enjoyed the fame associated with "big hits" and similar hype that went along with it. The NFL is a marketing machine, and this play was a part of that.

For the NFL to implicate anyone but themselves for failings to patrol such behavior, sees a bit self serving to me. For my money the NFL blew the call a long time ago, not the guys calling the game on Sunday.

FIFA Launches probe into two bidding countries

In the ever widening net of investigation from FIFA, it is being reported that in addition to the (6) FIFA officials being provisionally suspended as part of their investigation, it is now being reported by the BBC that FIFA has launched a separate inquiry into two of the bidding nations.

Both Spain and Portugal (Iberia) who are are making a joint 2018 bid, and Qatar who is making a bid on 2022 are now under separate investigation.

Officials from neither the Iberian or Qatar delegations have yet responded.

What comes up, comes down

Massachusetts National and FIFA Referees circa 2003
(L to R Claudio Badea, Erich Simmons, John Matthew, Rachel Woo, Niko Bratsis, Jen Bennett, Gus St. Silva, Tom Supple)

Just the other day I was informed about the retirement of a log time Massachusetts, turned California FIFA referee, Jennifer Bennett. Since 2002 Jen has served those whom she represented with distinction and humility. During her time in Massachusetts, I had the opportunity to work with Jen in a variety of contexts and believe today, as I did then, she is one of the very best.

In reflecting on retirement generally, I again heard the words of refereeing legend, Angelo Bratsis in my head stating that "... going up is much easier than coming down." Truer words have never been spoken about both mountaineering and refereeing, which hold amazing similarities to each other.

Over the last 6 months or so when I have been very actively reengaging the soccer community, it at times has been a conscious thought if I acted the right way on the way up, as I intend to now on the way down. Fortunately my answer has always come back "yes", but am not so convinced that that will always be my answer.

It would be easy to say that I was so singularly focused on becoming a FIFA referee that I sometimes forgot about the typical pleasantries that others may have found offensive. Or maybe just a punk kid with an attitude problem at times that shot his mouth off. Both would seem to apply to me at times in my life.

I know for a fact that not everyone was sad to see me go from pro soccer when I did for a variety of reasons. None of which are really relevant here. Looking back over the landscape that I traveled I also realize that some would feel that way regardless of how, or who, left the professional refereeing ranks.

What is critical (and I speak generally as well as specifically here) are really two things at this juncture.

First, as an ambassador of the game, it is critical to remember to treat THE game, and all of its participants with the appropriate amount of respect. Granted this is not always easy to do, and reasonable minds can disagree, but it is critical to maintain decorum.

Second, as the title states, what comes up, comes down and this includes referees careers. For me I am trying to reinvent myself from active referee to one who can help referees get where they want to go through discourse. We will see where that winds up. Others will have different paths for sure, but it should be evident that one will likely be treated the same way down, as they treated those on the way up.

My suggestion, be nice. It's a long way down.

FIFA Suspends six as investigation continues

FIFA Executive Committee members Amos Adamu of Nigeria and Reynald Temarii from Tahiti have been provisionally suspended pending the outcome of the investigation of the Ethics Committee.

Further, Slim Aloulou of Tunisia, Amadou Diakite of Mali, Ahongalu Fusimalohi of Tonga, and Ismael Bhamjee of Botswana were also provissionally suspended for ethics violations in connection with the investigation.

During a cursory search for these gentlemen, the following corruption case was also unearthed about Mr. Bhamjee and led to his resignation from the FIFA executive Committee back in 2006.

FIFA press release of the event including the live event can be found here.

Hijo got the Benzo

Our little friend to the left here, benzodiazepine, is a psychoactive drug.

In gardening vernacular, it gets into your squash and affects your central nervous system. It is a sedative and anti-anxiety drug.

The first benzodiazepine, chlordiazepoxide (Librium), was discovered accidentally by Leo Sternbach in 1955, and made available in 1960 by Hoffmann–La Roche, which has also marketed diazepam (Valium) since 1963 ... or so says Wikipedia.

No, I am not engineer, turned lawyer (almost), turned pharmacist. This is the latest drama to unfold in front of our eyes at a 2nd division soccer match in Peru.

Seems that an unidentified member of Sport Ancash’s coaching staff has been accused of giving players from opposing team Hijos de Acosvinchos water laced with Benzo. This after four of them passed out in the waning moments of their Peruvian second-division game.

Seeing is believing, so look at the article and video here.

Seeking comments after the match, reporters asked Sport Ancash President José Mallaqui how the opposing players wound up with benzo in their bloodstream.

In confirming the hospital results, Mallaqui said to generaccion.com, and I quote:

“I was able to find out that the players ate rotisserie chicken and had some energy drinks before the game, which ended up hurting them ...".

KFC and Red Bull caused this?

Wow. 

Best part of the whole thing was that Sporting Ancash still lost the game 3-0.

Update: World Cup Vote Investigation

Well, it looks like a busy day for FIFA as they have decided to widen their investigation considerably into the vote buying scandal. This would seem to include the national organizations that are in the bid process and may lead to suspensions of these national associations.

Claudio Sulser, who chairs FIFA's ethics committee has been tasked with figuring out just what exactly is going on, and has been asked by Sepp Blatter to do so "without delay." This statement may have some significant teeth in it as the vote to determine who will be hosting the next World Cup is due on 02-DEC-2010. Many have stated publicly that holding such a vote under a cloud of such malfeasance would be inappropriate. I agree with that decision.

It is no doubt heating up as we race to the finish on who will host the next Cup. For anyone who is keeping score, England, Russia, Spain & Portugal, and Holland & Belgium are in competition for the 2018 tournament, while the USA, Australia, Qatar, Japan, and Korea are the candidates for 2022.

While some have praised Sepp Blatter for his quick action to this matter, I am far more cynical. Why? Maybe it was my reading of Foul! The secret world of FIFA, or maybe the reports of open bribery that has gone on in the past, and seems to be within the very fabric of THE game itself, with little or no substantive action from FIFA.

John Leicester states it well in his AP article, "In judging votes-for-sale allegations, FIFA must act for the good of the game" where he takes a no nonsense approach. If your are found to be involved, you go. Period.

FIFA has an opportunity here, a real opportunity to show that they are serious about corruption of the game. To do so they should consider doing the following:

1. Indefinitely suspend the vote on 02-DEC until Mr. Sulser's investigation is complete.
2. On a finding of Bribery (section 11), Commission (section 12), Duty of disclosure (section 14), (see FIFA's code of ethics here) Summarily dismiss the members of the executive committee and any from any national associations who are involved.
3. On appeal, convene the Appeal Committee to hear the appeal and mete the appropriate punishment from sections 17 and 18 of the code of ethics.
4. Repeat steps 2 & 3 for all individuals involved.
5. Sanction the national associations themselves possibly by the very drastic step of excluding them from hosting a World Cup for some set number of years both as punishment for those national associations, and reminder for future ones.
6. Once all discipline has been publicly announced, convene an emergency session of the executive committee to allow an open vote so the world can see who will be getting the next Cup.

With this, FIFA would be able to gain a tremendous amount of credibility in showing it was serious about rooting out corruption, "For the good of the game."

I'd swear I've seen this somewhere before

Government Exhibit "D" - Dianne Wilkerson Trial

When I woke up this morning I was treated to a story that created waves on two fronts for me.

From the WSJ (paper version) I looked at the page 1 teased story (continued on A10), reporting that FIFA is investigating (2) executive committee members accused of taking bribes in exchange for their upcoming vote to determine who would be hosting the 2018 World Cup.

Now that was enough to wake me up in the early morning and poke around to see what was going on. Further however was the last paragraph of the print article, that was not online, that has Sunil Gulati essentially shouting from the rooftops that the US was not involved in any aspect of the reporting that resulted in the story. Yet in other parts of the WSJ story, we have this:

Video on the Sunday Times website allegedly shows Mr. Amadu telling an undercover reporter that he wanted to build four artificial soccer fields at a cost of $200,000 each and that the money could be paid to him "directly." When the reporter asked whether the payment would help Mr. Amadu make his decision in favor of the U.S. bid in some way, he responded: "Obviously it will have an effect. Of course it will have an effect. It will have an effect. Because certainly if if you are to invest in that, that means you also want the vote."

I am not sure how to square the comments from Mr. Amadu, and Mr. Gulati as it would seem that Mr. Amadu was approached by someone who was interested in the US receiving his vote for $800K. I would find it hard to believe that just anyone representing the US could make such an offer. Access to members of the FIFA executive committee would appear to be somewhat limited.

Now a disclaimer. I am not accusing anyone of any wrong doing, just pointing out the facts that:

1. FIFA has launched an investigation into the bribery of (2) executive committee members regarding their vote for the hosting of the World Cup.
2. A FIFA executive committee member (Mr. Amadu) has been spotted on video by The Sunday Times of London suggesting that a direct payment of $800K would "have an effect" on the vote for the US bid. 
3. U.S. Soccer has made a decision to pull out of the bidding for the 2018 World Cup and focus on the 2022 World Cup.
4. U.S. Soccer president, Sunil Gulati has adamantly denied any involvement in any bribery of FIFA officials, which would appear to be appropriate as Times reporters set up the sting.
5. All of this happened on or very close to 15-OCT-2010.

I welcome the readers to draw their own conclusion with these and the further facts that are certain to emerge from this developing story.

As I stated in the title, I have seen something like this before as it reminded me of the video that was filmed by the FBI during the collection of evidence against the Massachusetts politician Dianne Wilkerson. She ultimately plead guilty to several counts of attempted extortion and is due to be sentenced in the next few weeks.

To me this situation, sans the conviction, is strikingly similar as it demonstrates the willingness of people to use their position of power for their personal interests (and getting caught on video taking a bribe). FIFA, like Massachusetts politics has a history of corruption associated with it, which is not a surprise as there is a tremendous amount at stake. I would opine much more for the hosting of a World Cup than the grant of a liquor license, but the point remains.

One other thing to consider is those who choose to approach one of these figures who are able to influence a license grant or election. Little has been reported about those who sought out Ms. Wilkerson's grant of a license, and little has yet to be reported about those who approached the FIFA executive committee members, other than one was doing so for the sake of the US.

There is a part of me who can appreciate those efforts, however maybe not for the same reasons as those seeking to bribe the officials, as a World Cup here in the US would certainly bolster THE game here and give the US a much needed shot in the arm of the international game. I do personally believe however that the Women's World Cup would be a better choice for the US as it is that game that seems to be suffering the most on our shores. In either event, while I appreciate the result should it occur, I can not condone the method. Cheating is cheating. This is not a case of taking advantage of a "favorable business environment."

We shall see how this one evolves, as this may be too big for even FIFA to ignore, and may even halt the vote of the venue for the 2018 World Cup until this gets sorted out.

Stay tuned!

UPDATE1 19-OCT 09:52 EDT:

See the comment below from cy stating that the folks who made the bribe were UK reporters. This was not reported in the WSJ, but I am assuming was in the Times.

This would clearly take US Soccer off the hook, but continues to make me wonder if anyone posing as a delegate (why did these reporters choose the US?) could approach an official and do this ...

Thanks cy for the update.

US Out of 2018 World Cup Bid

USA Bid Committee To Focus on 2022 FIFA World Cup

NEW YORK (October 15, 2010) –The USA Bid Committee announced today that it has withdrawn from the 2018 FIFA World Cup bid and will exclusively focus on the 2022 campaign. 

The decision comes after several months of careful deliberation with FIFA, UEFA and members of the USA Bid Board of Directors. Four European candidates now remain in the race for 2018 (Belgium/Netherlands, England, Russia and Spain/Portugal). Since the FIFA Statutes indicate that the competition cannot be held on the same continent on two successive occasions, the 2022 campaign will now be between Australia, Japan, Korea Republic, Qatar and the United States. ...

See the full article here courtesy of US Soccer.

A Tale of Two Cities

The other day I was engaged in what is quickly becoming a ritual for me on the weekend. Assess a match in the AM, coach Junior in the midday, and assess another match in the late PM.

For whatever reason, this series struck a particular chord with me as I had the opportunity to traverse two very distinct parts of the state to assess a competition in the same sport, with very different surroundings.

In the morning, I was in central Massachusetts at Progin Park. This is truly a marvelous complex. Wide open spaces and farmland as far as the eye could see (I even stopped at a farm stand for a peck of empire apples on the way to Jr.'s match). It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, even when the match was going on. A sleepy Saturday morning was barley interrupted by a very competitive adult league match, and the smell of cool clean air was abound.

In the afternoon however it was the opposite in many regards. In the shadow of the John Hancock building, at a local urban high school, another adult league match was played. This environment while beginning fairly quietly, continued with the raucous sounds of emergency vehicles speeding by, loud Latin music, and a chorus of epithets yelled at the referees, players, and coaching staffs alike from the spectators voicing their displeasure about a variety of things in no fewer than 3 languages. Further, the (delicious) smell of food for the teams cooking on charcoal grills brought by the teams was wafting through the air as the sun set.

What's the point you ask? Everyone was there for the same reason, THE game.

While the players came from different backgrounds, the intent of the gathering, and the result, was exactly the same, to play a game.

This may seem exceedingly obvious to some, and in some regards it is to me as well. However for more than a moment, sitting there in Boston, watching a match, it continued to crystallize to me just how much of a unifying force THE game is.

You could take any number of the teams and move them around, even go to a completely different location, tell a few folks about it and they will show up to watch the game. It's kind of amazing really. This is not (generally) due to being forced to go, or some sense of obligation, people genuinely wanted to be there.

I watched spectators in both matches freezing their a$$es off watching these matches and players (some well past their prime) doing the same and chancing injury, just to get together for a couple of hours. Afterwards, everyone shook hands, thanked each other for the match, and left to have a meal and spend more time together in a more relaxed social setting, adding to the social fabric of the universe in the process. All in the name of a game.

Soccer is life.

Then and Now

From an earlier post I opined that the route the modern referee takes is very different from the way a previous generation referee was trained.

[Editor note: I dare not say "older referee" as (1) I am turning into one before my very eyes, and (2) there are some of these legendary referees who read this blog and would not hesitate to take me out to the woodshed should I use that term =)]

While referees in how they are brought up through the ranks has changed, what about the game?

Well here is a very interesting article that opines that some older legendary players, would not have made it in todays game as to some the game in turning into a non-contact sport.

Harris: Moore would incur modern refs' wrath

LONDON - Even England's 1966 World Cup winning captain Bobby Moore, who turned tackling into an art form, would fall foul of modern referees, former Chelsea defender Ron Harris said on Tuesday.

"Bobby was the greatest tackler there was but if he had been playing today he would have been getting cards all over the place, week in week out," Harris, whose uncompromising approach in the 1970s earned him the nickname "Chopper", told Reuters in an interview. ...

The full article is here, and provides an interesting opinion about where the game may be going, courtesy of fourfourtwo.com.