The European Leagues have flexed their muscles towards Sepp Blatter and told FIFA in no uncertain terms that there will be no interference with the international fixture calendar, there will be no winter World Cup in 2022 or any other time, and they will not be dictated to on the size of national leagues. ...
Kicking Back Comments: I am tickled that the EPFL is growing a spine in this regard and hope they remain staunch in the face of FIFA's whining that will most certainly come.
From World Football Insider, I caught a good article which included the following:
"Zidane: Bid Backing About Football Growth
Zinedine Zidane says his support of Qatar 2022 wasn’t about the money.
Instead, the French football legend told L’Equipe on Wednesday, he backed the bid because of a desire to spread football throughout the Middle East.
The 38-year-old, who also holds Algerian citizenship, is the greatest footballer of Arab-extraction of all time and was unveiled in September as a surprise ambassador of the oil-rich nation's bid.
Zidane admitted Wednesday he was paid millions of dollars by the bid committee, but nowhere near the $13 to $17 million floated by various media since Qatar’s Dec. 2 triumph."
The full article is here from World Football Insider
Kicking Back Comments: Are you kidding me? This smacks of FIFA's absurd tagline, "For the good of the game." Who's good are we talking about here? I would opine Z's only.
I mean, millions of dollars ... really?
An amazing player in his day to be sure, but please don't insult our collective intelligence by saying that it was not about the money, and take millions. Unless of course, I missed the follow up story that he donated his earnings to a worthy charity. It must be around here somewhere. Hang on ...
It is tough to come off as altruistic when you are stuffing your pockets full of money. Please leave the altruism title for those who truly selflessly dedicate themselves to THE game, not a hired gun to make a country millions.
In it he describes how US Soccer has a renewed focus on the womens game likely caused from some of the recent stumbles from the U-17 and U-20 teams.
Best line in the article for me was:
When USSF president Sunil Gulati officially appointed the two women to the newly created positions on Jan. 6 he said that the appointments are not reactionary, but have been in the works for some time. If that is the case -- as overly coincidental as the timing may be -- the changes could not come at a more necessary time.
I don't know how these could not be anything but reactionary given the recent progress of the women's game. Yet I concede the possibility exists.
Flip to the comments from Neil Beuthe, communications director for US Soccer on women referees. Is this reactionary, due to some pressure being heaped on US Soccer for not having women referees in men's professional games, or a Title 9 issue rearing its head?
While it would not seem to be the case, my hope is this is a tandem effort from US Soccer and there is concert between the players side and the referee side. One can not exist without the other, despite what both may think.
In my experience this is rarely the case and the two are on separate tracks regarding development, and at times necessarily so. There are a few shining stars however as at the higher levels there is a clear recognition that it is more than a peaceful coexistence that the two need, it is shared cooperation and vision of how THE game is played and managed.
We are all one big, happy, and at times, dysfunctional family. The more we can learn from each other, the better off we are.
For those who don't know, Neil Buthe is my opposite number for US Soccer. Where I serve as communications director for the MSRC, Mr. Buther serves as communications coordinator for US Soccer.
From the other day, I opined and posted a link to the article written by L.E. Eisenmenger of my interview on the topic of women refereeing at the professional level.
Well, the other day LE caught up with Mr. Buthe, who shared the position of US Soccer on the topic.
As good communication officials do (unlike me in my personal capacity during my interview), he was very clear this was not a discrimination issue, but one of performance.
I agree with him 100% as I believe in a meritocracy, and I believe the Federation does too.
Part of his answer was interesting however as, and I'm paraphrasing, there is a path now for (women) officials.
This on its face is great as there is a way to get experience ... but ... and this is generic to all referees not just women ... how does a referee get experience to compete at this level? It would seem to be a chicken in the egg scenario. You need experience to get to that level, but to get that experience you need to work at that level.
I know the Federation is crafting answers to these issues, for example the new grades being created to create professional AR's. An issue remains however of how a referee can get to some higher levels, without being or having experience at those levels.
For me it was fairly easy ... there was no one else in some cases, and State Referees were used early on in MLS as 4th officials. Today it is a much harder problem to solve, and it is clear the folks at the Federation are working on it, as is clear from their actions, and the comments from Mr. Buthe.
Any bets on when a woman will be refereeing in MLS?
The US tends to break ground in many areas of THE game for the good (think diversity of players) and the bad (think "rampage" in MLS), why not make this an opportunity to show the world, we have the best women referees ... that can work in the top men's professional leagues?
Or could it be as shown here ... a neck warmer that some players are making very fashionable these days?
Apparently "snoods", as they are incorrectly called, unless someone has a registered trademark on them, recently became popular in the Premier League this season, with Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez and Arsenal forward Samir Nasri among the fashion leaders. We have seen them before though with Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and Brazil defender Daniel Alves at the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa wearing them.
So what's the big deal you may ask?
Well, in a previous post (To bead, or not to bead, that was the question), we asked a similar question about hair adornments. In that case, we came to the conclusion that such were not dangerous to that player or another, so players were allowed to wear them ... at the international level.
I will not debate the wisdom here of why they should not be worn at other levels, other than to say it sends a mixed message.
Snoods however mat be different indeed. FIFA is considering a snood ban, and for good reason. They are dangerous! Imagine a player accident or not, getting hold of a snood and giving it a good yank. Yipes!
FIFA while inconsistent in their application of what is safe, and what is not (what makes a gold chain more safe than a snood?), should ban the snood as it is clearly unsafe, and has the secondary benefit to have it banned through all levels of soccer so referees don't have to deal with such adornments on a case by case basis.
For any who are curious what this day is all about in the United States and other places around the globe that watch this game, here is some history and some facts that I pulled out of cyberspace.
What is the Super Bowl?
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League (NFL), the highest level of professional football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The first Super Bowl was played on January 15, 1967.
How did the Super Bowl come to be (from Wikipedia)?
The game was created as part of a merger agreement between the NFL and its then-rival league, the American Football League (AFL). It was agreed that the two leagues' champion teams would play in an AFL–NFL World Championship Game until the merger was to officially begin in 1970. After the merger, each league was redesignated as a "conference", and the game was then played between the conference champions.
Who has won past Super Bowls?
As would be expected, the NFL has a very nice summary here, to see the past Superbowl's winners and all the vital stats.
World Cup Final or Super Bowl, who has the larger TV audience?
From Answers.com ... it's the World Cup Final (not a surprise given the relative market penetration)
While FIFA has claimed that over 1 Billion people watch the World Cup Final, that number is greatly exaggerated.
According to a 2007 article in the UK newspaper The Independent, "Fifa's overblown figures, the World Cup finals of 1998, 2002 and 2006 respectively attracted global audiences of 1.3 billion, 1.1 billion and 715.1 million people.
According to Initiative Sports Futures, independent analysts, the figure for the 2006 World Cup Final was 260 million in the 54 key markets it surveyed, accounting for 90% of the world's TV households.
Even so, at 260 million, the World Cup final had more viewers than the 2006 Super Bowl.
2006 World Cup vs. Super Bowl viewer-ship World Cup Final, Italy v France
Claim: 715.1 million, Estimated: 260 million
Super Bowl Steelers v Seahawks
Claim: 750 million-1 billion, Estimated: 98 million
So it would seem that both FIFA and the NFL are prone to a bit of exaggeration but at the end of the day, the World Cup Final takes is by 2.5 times.
Keep in mind however, the most of the world won't get the Super Bowl televised to it, as the sport is foreign to most of the world.
Kicking Back comments: While I believe this good news for the sport that some involved in the World Cup pay to play scandal have been dealt with, I hardly feel that FIFA has rid itself of all its issues.
It's a good start to be sure, but one they were forced to take with some superior investigative journalism.
Adamu Finished as FIFA Exorcises its Devils; Temarii Appeal Rejected
(WFI) Amos Adamu and Reynald Temarii, the FIFA Executive committee members caught out by the Sunday Times bungs sting, have had their appeals against their bans rejected by FIFA. ...
Adamu and Temarii were caught on film last October requesting improper inducements in return for their votes for the hosting of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
FIFA’s appeal committee today upheld three and one year bans handed out by the organisation’s ethics committee in November. ...
See the whole story here, courtesy of World Football Insider.
Kicking Back comments: For some time now I have been following LE's work at the Examiner and have enjoyed her articles. The other week the Examiner caught up with me and I shared a few candid thoughts about women referees in todays professional and international game as well as some thoughts about MLS refereeing and the use of technology.
As the interview is intended to demonstrate, I very clearly believe that women referees are just as capable as men. Success in any referee depends on their ability to manage a match both through the laws and through their personality. Anyone who is able to do so will succeed in such a role.
While there are very few women currently employed in (men's) professional league matches, and I can not think of any in recent (men's) international matches, I opine that doing so, and therefore challenging the thinking of everyone involved, may not be such a bad thing. I do recognize however that doing so may run against social constructs and in result, may decrease the entertainment value of THE game for some.
Just one persons opinion ... but please read on and comment away ...
All comments are welcome, and I will answer them all.
No female referees in MLS: a referee assessor speaks
As part of an interview with former MLS referee and current state assessor Peter Kokolski about officiating in MLS in 2011, we discussed the absence of women officials in the North American league. Kokolski refereed in MLS for eight years. Kokolski is not affiliated with U.S. Soccer and his opinions are his alone based on many years working with U.S. Soccer. He regularly shares information and thoughts about officiating in his blog Kicking Back. In a separate story, Kokolski explains MLS referee directives to manage with personality in 2011. ...
See the full story here from LE courtesy of the National Soccer Examiner.
Back on 11-JAN-11, I posed a video clip and a question. Here is the video again:
The answers (with poll percentages) were:
A. Caution Purple #5 ==> 0%
B. Caution Purple #11 ==> 28%
C. Caution Orange GK (#21) ==> 0%
D. A and B ==> 57%
E. A, B and C ==> 7%
F. None of the above ==> 7%
My answer is B, with a restart of an IFK for Orange at the edge of the penalty area where #11 entered. Here is why ...
For this answer please refer to the 2010/2011 LOTG here, Advice to Referees here, and FIFA Questions and Answers from 2006 here.
First, we are well in Law 14 (Penalty Kick) on p. 30 of the LOTG. Here the law states that the ball must be placed on the penalty mark, and the kicker must be properly identified.
Regarding the ball, if the field is marked properly, there is a spot, not a line, indicating where the ball goes during a penalty. This spot should be 9" in diameter, which is not surprisingly just about the diameter of a #5 ball that is used in older youth and adult matches as detailed in law 2.
Mechanics tip: Let the players place the ball. It is not the referee's kick and there is considerable pressure on the kicker generally. It's their game, let the players play it by allowing them to place their own ball.
Also ... it is hard to refute that the player who places the ball on the spot is not properly identifying themselves as the kicker.
But what is proper identification? Where is this defined?
You guessed it folks ... its not. A fair reading would imply that this is a measure to allow the goal keeper to know who the player is that will be taking the kick to avoid the trickery that we exactly see in the video. In the :30 point of the video, when #5 places the ball on the spot, I would opine he is properly identifying himself to the goalkeeper and referee that he is the one that is going to take the kick.
Now, can a player change their mind after they place the ball they want someone else to take the kick? You bet!! However as a referee you would need to be somewhat ceremonial about it to assure that the change in kicker was understood by at the very least the keeper ... and frankly the more public you can make it the better, for everyone's sake.
Now clearly that was not the case here as the #5 walks away from the ball, but continues to participate in the ruse by walking away from the ball and not leaving the penalty area after the referee blows the whistle to take the kick at :47 (as the referee is required to do). Note this matters as if all of this happened *before* the whistle we would have a very different result.
At this point the #11 comes in and scores the penalty.
Now, if you look at the law you make be tempted to look at p. 31 and begin to apply the section on "A team-mate of the player taking the kick infringes the Laws of the Game." This makes logical sense as it would seem clear that the #11 created this mess. You however would need to look a little deeper for this answer.
Refer to the 2006 Q&A on the LOTG from FIFA. Specifically question #4 on p. 35. From that text:
4. When a penalty kick is being taken, and after the referee has given the necessary signal, a team-mate of the player identified to take the kick suddenly rushes forward and takes it instead. What action does the referee take?
The referee stops play and restarts the match with an indirect free kick to the defending team where the infringement occurred i.e. where the player advanced closer than 9.15m. The player is cautioned for unsporting behaviour.
This is also reinforced in the Advise to Referees document which states in relevant part on p. 75:
The exceptions to the above chart (this is the magic PK chart) of decisions are:
• If an attacker other than the identified kicker takes the penalty kick, play is restarted with an
indirect free kick for the opposing team where the attacker illegally entered the penalty arc or
penalty area, regardless of the outcome of any kick that may have been performed by this
attacker.
• If the kicker plays the ball backward (any direction other than forward), play is restarted with an
indirect free kick for the opposing team at the penalty mark, regardless of any further play that
may result from the kicker’s action.
From this it would seem clear that we have at least an IFK out. What about the caution? FIFA says book the player running in, US Soccer is silent on it.
For the professional match on the video, I book #11 as the FIFA guideline states. I do this for (2) reasons. (1) What he did was really against the spirit of the game, so a caution for USB works for me. (2) FIFA's Q&A, while not the law, state how they want it interpreted. Following FIFA's interpretation in a professional match is not a bad thing, and will keep you out of trouble in their eyes. Note however, there is latitude here. The laws do not require a caution, so if #11 is under a caution, I would have to think an extra second.
Regarding #5, you certainly could caution him. Would I personally in that professional match? No. Denying a goal, and booking a player I think would be just about as much as a team could take. Adding another caution onto that for, yes, being part of the trickery would be a legitimate caution, but somewhat "ticky tack" in my opinion and may invite issues longer term. Legitimate? Yes. Required? No. Desired? No. A different match may yield a different result including not cautioning anyone, or both players involved.
Regarding the keeper, I would not caution him for moving early, he fell prey to the ruse that was being done to him and no more.
... and my opinion about the penalty in the first place. Based on the excellent camera angle ... no way =)
While not in the context of a match apparently, a 4th grader from Arkansas was killed when a falling soccer goal crushed his skull. Further details on this story are reported here.
While by itself this represents a horrible tragedy, it serves as another reminder to check those nets as the spring season begins as it really can save a life.
For me personally it gives even greater pause as Jr. is currently in 4th grade and is often found on various soccer fields. You can bet, I will check the nets myself, acting in an official capacity or just as a parent.
Football's world governing body has announced that it has extended its Middle East and North Africa broadcast rights agreement with Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera to cover the 2018 and 2022 World Cup football tournaments. ...
As I have stated here before, I am part geek. In fact I may actually be mostly geek. To that end I have been poking around waiting for the designs for the Qatar stadia and how they are going to be "carbon neutral", "eco friendly", and "able to be dismantled and transported for use in poorer countries."
Well, I just ran across one such article here from Inhabitat. An example is shown below.
Photo courtesy of inhabitat.com
It is pretty cool stuff, and worth a look, if for no other reason, to see what is cooking with some of the architectural ideas in the future of stadium design.
Back in October 2010 we saw, and wrote about, the sale of Liverpool FC to the owner of the Boston Red Sox, John Henry. To be even more specific the club was sold to New England Sports Ventures of which John Henry is a member.
Well, the Beantown Bankers (as I am starting to call them) are at it again, and are now investing in the Serie A Club, AS Roma. ESPN is currently reporting that a final meeting to seal the deal is imminent. Thanks to Andy Weiss for bringing this one to the fore.
Finally, in what I consider one of the best "feel good stories" in a while regarding sports business, CNN and others are reporting that "angel investor" Robert Rich is making capital investments into the 9th division Bedlington Terriers FC.
This is truly an inspiring story where a man has realized his heritage, and want to give back to his community. He is reported to not be asking for a share of the team that draws about 120 fans per match, and the players get paid only expenses, not a salary.
Take a look at the story here from Guardian, and the video below from CNN. You won't be disappointed.
Mohamed Bin Hammam: Sepp Blatter has been Fifa president for too long AFC head hasn't made up his mind concerning the elections
Asian Football Confederation president Mohamed Bin Hammam insists that Sepp Blatter's long reign as Fifa president should come to an end, as it has begun to hurt the credibility of the governing body of world football.
Now the AFC head believes that the exit of the 74-year-old would ensure that Fifa would not be defenceless against accusations of corruption in the organisation. ...
Why is football knowledge measured by the offside rule?
The row over remarks made by Sky Sports presenters Richard Keys and Andy Gray about female assistant referee Sian Massey centres on the offside rules. But why is the offside law such a benchmark of football knowledge? ...
One thing that my father taught me when I would referee as a youth is a healthy disrespect for authority. While like most kids I would imagine, I was taught by my parents to always be polite, say "please", and "thank you", and generally be nice. One other lesson that was taught was to "respect your elders", which was essentially everyone else at my tender age as I started refereeing.
My dad carved out an exception for me though. He allowed me to use appropriate language and acts to make and defend my decisions inside the field. Essentially I was allowed to (appropriately) stand my ground with my decisions regardless of how the adults involved felt about it.
This was very liberating to me personally as it allowed me to do what I thought was right and appropriately challenge some of the assertions. This had a positive effect of letting some of these youth coaches know I was not a doormat and they would get comments back to out of bounds criticisms. This may actually have been the genesis of the BAYS "Zero Tolerance" policy, which was derived shortly thereafter with my dad leading the charge, while serving as BAYS referee commissioner, and thankfully with the full board in support.
Granted in my youth I blew it a few times and constructive comments at times degraded slightly (not overly). Also, I was not always correct in my interpretation about what I was calling. Fortunately I was not a prisoner to "confirmation bias" and even then had a few folks who would gently guide me in being less aggressive with my comments and a better listener and referee.
Later in my career what I found was that there are many, many people who really don't understand the LOTG, as the "experts" here clearly demonstrated. I say that fully realizing that your typical youth parent does not, as would your typical adult player. Where I became surprised was my time in MLS and the brief touch with the international game that a percentage of those players and coaches do not understand aspects of the LOTG either. I was floored and continued my policy of challenging the incorrect ... in a more appropriate way these days.
Now beware, there are folks that know an awful lot about the game that inhabit youth fields, and certainly at the professional and international level. Don't assume that you are better because you are wearing the badge. Take an objective look at your performance later, but don't be bullied into calling something a particular way from pressure from someone who may think they know more, or better. Sian knew better. I suspect the other blokes do now as well.
If you want to see what can happen when you assume, take a look at the clip below from the ageless Benny Hill ... it speaks for itself.
Sky Soccer Presenter Andy Gray Is Fired After Remarks
Sky Sports soccer announcer Andy Gray, who made sexist remarks about a female assistant referee at the weekend, has been fired by the U.K. broadcaster.
“Andy Gray’s contract has been terminated for unacceptable behavior,” Barney Francis, managing director of Sky Sports, said in a statement. “After issuing a warning yesterday, we have no hesitation in taking this action after becoming aware of new information today.”
The new evidence relates to an off-air incident in December, Sky said, and came to light after Gray had already been disciplined for his disparaging weekend comments on match official Sian Massey.
See the complete story here, courtesy of Bloomberg.
Does anyone think it is tougher to be a woman referee? I have an answer, but judge for yourself.
Kudos to Jenna Powell for finding this one.
Andy Gray and Richard Keys comments about assistant ref Sian Massey 'make my blood boil', says Karren Brady
West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady admits off-air remarks by Sky Sports presenters Richard Keys and Andy Gray about both herself and Premier League official Sian Massey made her "blood boil".
They concurred that female officials "don't know the offside rule", with Keys adding: "I can guarantee you there'll be a big one today. (Liverpool manager) Kenny (Dalglish) will go potty." ...
See the full story here, courtesy of the Telegraph.
Would you as a referee allow a player to play with those beads in their hair?
How about this?
... and this?
Should these be allowed as well?
My answer for these players, at these levels, is yes. My answer is also yes for players at any level with a bona fide religious belief that requires a head covering or medical condition that requires a bracelet for such.
Should a referee allow a player to have beads in their hair, or for that matter anything ornamental at any other level?
My answer is no, and it is backed up by the LOTG and Ask A Referee here.
So why allow professional and international players to do so?
Keep in mind that at these levels the LOTG will flex as much as the players want to play, and the referee allows. This is after all for the entertainment value of the game itself for those who are watching. As I have said many times here, it is a business, and one that the referees are a part of protecting. Asking Zenga to remove his hat, or Sutter to remove his head covering would put the referee in a bad spot as it would intrude on the "branding" that player is engaging in. Also it would no doubt bring about a poor reaction for the player themselves.
To remedy this in MLS there were specific memos that came from the staff to note that such accoutrements were allowed and the referee will allow them during play. As neither of these were outwardly dangerous it made some sense.
In all cases, a referee must draw the line when an article can put another player into peril. I don't believe that FIFA, MLS, or anyone else would have issues with that. The trick of course is what is "dangerous" varies at different levels. For those upper levels, there has to be real danger as just adornments need not be removed. At any lower levels however, it should all come off.
I agree, its not fair ... and is one of the many ways that the professional and international game sets a very bad example for younger players and referees.
I am going to be unable to post for a couple of days, but expect to be able to by the weekend. In the mean time, I leave you with this video as a friendly reminder that players are human too ... just like referees.
