FA killed the video star

For all who looked in the last couple of days at Nah Nah Nani, you may have noticed a change.

The video is gone as the FA has claimed a copyright violation.

Strange huh ...

Not really I think. In fact I am surprised it took this long.

To me while I am all for protection of intellectual property rights, and being trained in the law I understand that it is necessary to patrol such marks to effectively enforce them in the future, I do not think this is why the video was pulled.

If so, this one would not be available:



Right?

How about this one?



Nope, not that one either ... Hmmm, that's odd. What could it be?

My guess, the FA is deathly embarrassed about this one and while it can serve as a great lesson for those who view it, they are not looking at the larger picture, and pulled it.

Too bad actually, as it is a good lesson on many fronts.

Here was the live look ... also still on You Tube:



I don't expect any of these to get pulled any time soon.

Finally, and just to rub salt in the wound, here is a post game interview with Harry Redknapp, manager of the Spurs on the incident by ESPN back on 30-OCT-10:



I don't expect this to get pulled either, but Harry while threatened with getting pulled himself, or at least fined substantially, was let off free with a rap on the knuckles and a lecture from the FA about the responsibility of the manager.

For me this compounds just how embarrassed the FA is about the whole thing.

Next time I've saving the video.

Nah Nah Nani

Kicking Back gives special thanks to Steve for bringing this one forward for publishing.

For those who have not seen this bizarre goal between Man U and Tottenham back on 30-OCT-2010, take a look below, or at the link here.

A disclaimer - My answer here is not a "book" answer. While I will answer the more technical aspects of this catastrophe, I will not cite chapter and verse the LOTG, but rather reference it, this will focus more on management than rules of THE game.

In this clip, we are treated to a chain of events where several mistakes were made by the players, and I would opine the referee. Lets review the sequence of major events:

• Man U #17 (Nani) received a ball in the Tottenham penalty area and was possibly fouled by Tottenham #4 (Kaboul) at the corner of the 6 yard box, in front of the Tottenham net.
• The ball is picked up by the Tottenham GK (da Silva Gomes) and placed at about 12 yards from goal. His demeanor indicated he believed there was a free kick.
• From the video and reports the referee had not stopped play in any way, and the JAR had not indicated anything.
• All the players (all that can be seen in the video) react as if the play was stopped and a free kick was about to be taken.
• Nani jogs to the ball, steps up, and shoots the ball into the net while the GK looked to about to take what seemed to be a free kick.
• Referee and JAR allow the goal making it 2 - 0 Man U in about the 86'.
• Understandable protests erupt inside the field.

Now, take a close look at the video, at 0:30 and 0:34. The referee, Mark Clattenburg, pretty clearly signals something strikingly resembling a play on signal. This first signal seemed to be at the GK (as Nani was on the floor) and the second one seemed to be at Nani as he was looking in that direction.

So that's what happened. What do I think?

The referee blew this one - badly.

Why?

This whole episode did not comport with the spirit of the game, despite complying with the LOTG.

Now, technically, if the referee or JAR believed there was no foul by either Kaboul (trip), or Nani (offside or handball) and allowed the play to continue, the result is a valid goal. No stoppage. Goal. There is no reason for another result. Shame on the GK for putting the ball down, and bravo for Nani for taking advantage.

If a foul was called on any of the above, the restart should have been for the foul. It would stand to reason that the referee did not call one, as he allowed the goal to stand. Reports of the incident agree that no foul was called.

So now what? Do we allow such a goal to stand as referees? One that while technically correct, is against the spirit of the game? Where is the spirit of the game enumerated in the LOTG?

It's not in text, and that's why this is such a difficult decision.

So a couple of folks may be leaning back in their chair and saying, "So we are supposed to not allow a goal, not based in the LOTG, but some ethereal aspect that is not in text anywhere, called "spirit"?"

Yes.

This is the type of decision that turns a person who "enforces the rules", into a referee that is respected by players, coaches, and those who love the game.

It's easy to enforce the rules really. The most difficult part is to manage the players in such a way as to let them know you have THE games best interest at heart.

Letting Man U score a goal in a way that openly takes advantage of such confusion is contrary to the spirit of THE game, and as the referee was the cause for some of that confusion, part of this is on him.

So now what? How does a referee legitimately restart the game in such a case to nullify the goal? Making something up out of whole cloth is just as detrimental to the spirit of the game as is what actually happened.

1. If they believe there was a foul, call the foul. In this case Nani may well have been legitimately busted for handling when he got up off the floor. Restart there. This may very well have been what the GK was reacting to.
2. Drop the ball. Law 8 allows the referee to drop the ball if the ball is in play and required to stop play for any reason not mentioned in the LOTG. This situation could be such a reason. Now I will say, this would be a tough sell at the EPL level ... but just as allowed per the LOTG.

For me, at the heart of this issue is the question if a player should be allowed to use the LOTG to circumvent the spirit of THE game.

My answer is a clear no. Exceptional referees apply the laws to obtain the right result for THE game, not just follow them like a set of directions that can result in unjust results, such as this goal.

Has England Lost the 2018 Bid?

See this article from Guardian.co.uk stating that the UK bid team is starting to place some blame on the UK media that unearthed the corruption for votes scandal that rocked FIFA last month.



I have to be honest though, "unearthed", and "rocked" are really not the right adjectives as this was going on in plain sight, and by all accounts had for some time.

What is interesting though is the UK bid team, I would opine, starting to sense trouble and looking to place the blame on someone, anyone else ... but the bid team.

From the article:

One senior bid source said today: "It is a fact that England's chances have been damaged among Fifa executive committee members. If the Panorama is broadcast that will damage our chances further."

Trouble for the country that was seen to be a lock for the 2018 World Cup.

Why did the US get out so soon?

The US Bid team may have blown it big time by getting out so quick when the water started getting a little warm. While it seemed clear from the article that the US was not involved in what was being reported regarding the corruption, why didn't we wait just a little bit and see what happened? After all, how much $$ was US Soccer really spending to keep the 2018 bid alive that would be used for 2022? Were we told to "get out?"

What happens if FIFA goes Russia in 2018 ... who is to stop them from going to the UK in 2022? It would seem unlikely that FIFA would go UK in 2018 and US in 2022.

Stay tuned, the UK bid team may not be the only one with egg on its face in the coming weeks.

In a laugh out loud moment, Mohamed Bin Hammam both proclaimed his innocence, and stated that "... setting traps are unethical ..." on his blog located here.

I'll tell you something though, looking at the blog and his website, I want to be a FIFA EXCOM member too. For a more home-town look, Chuck Blazers (US FIA EXCOM member) blog is here.

Wow ... and I though college games paid well.

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.

Wyckoff Nissenbaum
Nicholas Grimard

Alex Wallach-Hanson

The colors man ...

Image from officialsports.com

From previous posts I have shared that I do like men's suits and the accouterments that go with them. Also from the other day I spoke about working a match with a couple of very good referees, one of which is FIFA AR Tom Supple.

After receiving the assignment and my starting to work through my fear of running a line after 10 years, we had our first team decision to make ... what to wear.

Now, in some cases this is really easy. Take a look here at an old assignment, it pretty clearly spells out who is wearing what. Easy peasy.

In our case, we knew the teams, and had a rough idea about color, but wanted to be sure so a conversation broke out over EMail that went into great detail about what color to wear, what style shirt of that color to wear, sleeve length, what shorts to wear (logo, no logo), what socks to wear (stripes, logo) ... on and on.

At the end of the day Tom, who was serving as the referee, was right to say simply, "Come dressed, and be comfortable."
Again, easy peasy.

Now, what of the poor referee who has no such guidance? There are (5) colors of new styled shirts, (4) colors of old styled shirts, and (2) sleeve lengths of each. We also have (4) types of socks and (3) types of shorts. That is close to 500 different combinations of uniforms. This does not even include the NISOA variants. YIPES!

So what is a referee to do?

Here are a few thoughts.

1. In January of 2008, US Soccer put out a memo regarding the New OSI Uniforms. If there are questions, a referee should refer to that memo. A very nice answer to a question is also here, at Ask A Soccer Referee.
2. If you are going to a particular competition and it was not announced what shirt to have, just ask. This will avoid any miscommunication when you are reaching into your kit only to discover you do not have the required shirt.
3. Ask to borrow a shirt. Referees are pack rats sometimes and have multiples of the same shirts for a variety of reasons. If you don't have a particular shirt, your partners may.
4. Be comfortable. While guys like me aren't happy unless they are wearing long sleeve black shirts in 110 degree weather, that may not make sense for you. Look the part, but be comfortable.

Case in point. While I had mis-matched socks from the others (no logo), and the referee and ARs had different sleeve lengths, we were all dressed professionally, did not conflict with any player or goalkeeper, and looked the part.

With that, we already won half the battle.

AAR's ... And what can happen with their involvement

See the following article at For the Integrity of Soccer penned by Ed Bellion, with a very interesting analysis of the use, mis-use, and possible areas of abuse for these newly minted Assistant - Assistant Referees (AAR).

An excerpt is below just to whet your appetite:

So now we have the absurd situation of having ultra fit referees, but not allowing them to use that fitness, by instructing them to adopt conservative positioning. At the same time there is the tacit acknowlegment that the CR cannot see what is happening near the goal line from these positions, and so the AARs are appointed! Although the big competitions and wealthy leagues can afford to have 6 officials assigned to each match, this is way beyond the financial and manpower capabilities of most other competitions. Many are unable to provide even ARs or 4th officials as it is.

A very good read, from a very smart (former FIFA) referee.

Role Reversal

So there I was minding my own business, when all of a sudden, an assignment came in.

I held my breath a little and a wave of fear came over me.

It was not because it was with a FIFA AR.
It was not because it was between two good teams.
It was not because there were former professional players coaching.

It was because I was assigned as an AR.

Now without going into the gory detail, while I have been fortunate enough to be an AR up to and including International friendlies, I was asked to specialize as a referee very shortly after becoming a national referee, and just held a whistle. So in essence, at the moment I received this assignment as AR, I had not held a flag for 10 years, give or take.

Fear turned into panic.

This emotion was not for concern that I had forgot in which direction to run on the line, or that my knowledge of Law 11 has suddenly vanished, it was over the knowledge that there is particular skill and fitness necessary to run an line well. These skills take practice. Just being a referee does not cut it to be able to run a line well.

While I won't get into the technical facets here (that will be for another time from a true expert such as FIFA AR Tom Supple), it is sufficient to say these referees are part of the team necessary to maintain match control. Further, they suffer the same as the referee themselves, as is clear from this article where AR Steven Craven resigned his post as professional AR in Scotland over reversing a penalty decision between Celtic and Dundee United.

As with any highly skilled craft, it is absolutely necessary to regularly "sharpen the saw" to stay at peak performance. A brief story to illustrate.

In 1990 as many are aware, we had a single referee representing the US. Vincent Mauro. In the weeks leading up to departing for Italy, Vinnie took the initiative and asked to serve as AR on a series of matches. Recall that at that time, there were not FIFA ARs yet, so the referees were the ones who ran the lines. His actions in preparing made him that much better than others for what he was going to be asked to do ... and he was ready.

While obviously I was not asked to be an AR at a World Cup match, I sure could have used some practice before taking the field the other day. While not completely horrible, to me, and my FIFA friend, it was pretty clear that my saw needed some sharpening.

So by way of a life lesson, keep your skills up to date. You just never know when you are going to be called on to use them.

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.