Great Insight

Check out this quick and fantastic post by George Cumming, The FIFA Presidential Election – football politics in the raw.

While I muse about these topics from an armchair, and have not danced in these circles ... Mr. Cumming has.

From this post it is clear that not only FIFA, but CONCACAF too is a mess, and will be for some time.

Exclusive Interview with Chuck Blazer

Here is the most critical message:

"I still have my job ..."

See the whole interview here, courtesy of World Football Insider.

A good alternate title may be, "How to thwart a coup."

Ladies and gentlemen, there are some serious political games being played right now ... especially in CONCACAF.

Blatter Re-Elected as FIFA President

A sad day for honest football indeed.

Joseph "Sepp" Blatter reelected as FIFA president despite scandals in soccer organization

See the full article here, courtesy of the LA Times.

Killing the victim

Fifa delegates attack England as attempt to postpone election fails

The Football Association's attempt to delay the uncontested election of the Fifa president failed at the organisation's congress on Wednesday amid an outpouring of anti-English sentiment from some quarters.

David Bernstein, the FA chairman, made a late attempt to alter the agenda less than 24 hours before the assembly. He was afforded the opportunity to introduce his initiative with a speech to the full congress in which he stated that there would be no "proper, credible mandate" ifSepp Blatter's coronation proceeds amid widespread corruption allegations. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of Guardian.

Kicking Back Comments: Pathetic. Here was a chance to do some real good and wait until things got sorted before Sepp's coronation. The result, a resounding "no" from FIFA to actually try to start to fix what is going on.

Even one who is starting to try and do some good, Chuck Blazer said the FA's move to launch a full independent investigation was "... to little, too late." When the devil is it too late to try to right a wrong, or a series of wrongs?

With an attitude like that, nothing will ever get done. Oh wait ... that is what is happening here ... never mind ... FIFA is right on cue then.

While these comments about Blazer seem critical, they are not meant to be, as it is clear that he is one of the very few "playing the game" in an effort to pierce the bureaucratic nonsense that is FIFA, to come out with a just result.

Someone who can put immediate pressure on the Seppster to step down are the sponsors. It would appear they are none too thrilled about what is going on and are starting to voice it in various volumes.

If you really want to get his attention, have Coca-Cola drop its FIFA sponsorship ... then, and only then, would we see some immediate change.

Wheels are coming off the FIFA cart

Acting CONCACAF chief trying to fire Blazer, accuses whistleblower of ‘gross misconduct’

ZURICH — The acting president of CONCACAF says he has fired Chuck Blazer, whose bribery allegations touched off a corruption scandal that has shaken FIFA.

Lisle Austin says Blazer’s conduct was “inexcusable and a gross misconduct of duty and judgment,” and the American is no longer fit to be CONCACAF’s secretary general. But it wasn’t immediately clear whether Austin has the authority to remove Blazer, also a member of FIFA’s executive committee. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of the Washington Post.

Kicking Back Comments: WOW. It has been an exciting 24h in FIFA-land. Sponsors are pissed, National Associations are pissed, people are being fired ...

My $10,000 question is ... does Sepp postpone the election? Better yet, does someone do it for him?

FIFA Imploding, Bin Hammam Out, and Blazer is on Fire!

See it all here, courtesy of the NYT.

Kicking Back Comments: I am waiting for the "mushroom cloud" over Zurich ... and will be happy to see it come with the hope of ushering in some sanity. Not what we get from Sepp.

From the article ... and this one says it all folks:

“I am the president of FIFA; you cannot question me,” Blatter said Monday.

There it is folks, right there for all to see. 

With Eternal Thanks This Memorial Day

Thank You All!

Friends,

It was about a year ago today Kicking Back was started with the post "West Virginia ... or Bust." [Yes I get the pleasure of going back to Regionals this year too, in Lancaster, PA!]

As I sit here 365 days and 427 posts later I still find myself somewhat nostalgic about THE game and my refereeing career "back in the day."

A lot has changed over the last year. Finishing law school, moving forward in my career, getting fit again as I am cycling a tremendous amount these days.

So much has also stayed the same however, like my love for THE game, and all of its participants, even in my newer capacities as assessor, administrator, coach, and mentor.

It has been an interesting road to be sure, but one I am glad to have taken. One also I am happy to share with you all.

My sincere thanks to everyone for reading, and I look forward to the next year ahead of us.

Sincerely,
PK

Not so illusive after all

So for anyone who has been following hockey recently, the other night we were treated to an event so rare, it defies reality ... a perfect game for the referees.

On Friday, May 27th 2011, Referees Dan O'Halloran, Stephen Walkom, Kelly Sutherland, and Linesmen: Steve Miller, Pierre Racicot, and Jean Morin officiated a pro hockey game with exactly zero penalty minutes. Outstanding.

See the full box score here, courtesy of USA Today.

How did they do it? Here is an opinion.

They didn't really do anything except recognize why the players were there.

To play.

Basically they got and kept the heck out of the way and quietly managed the game to allow the players to play.

That's all the players really wanted.

You see, here to me is the strongest case of all that the referees have very little to do with the outcome of a game, how many fouls occur, or if a players gets injured.

If the players want to play, the game takes care of itself.

Don't believe me? Take a look here for the following quotes from the NESN article.

"I don't think I've ever been in a game where there's been no penalties, but I think that was the best way to go. The refs did a great job of just letting us play and letting the best team win."

"I mean, they complained before Game 6 about the referees and we had some words about it before this game. I'm happy they let us play. I don't feel like it was a dirty game at all. Maybe there was one or two calls that they could have made, but it was great that they let us play and play to the finish. It's just fitting with how the series has gone that the game went the way that it did and it ended off the way that it did."

"I think the refs realized the situation and wanted the players to decide the game," Kelly said. "That's the way it should have been, especially a Game 7."

Here is one end of the spectrum of respect and understanding for referees. I will show you the other in a day or two, straight out of the MLS.

Timing is everything

A FIFA Fiasco: Accusations Lead To Investigations, An Election On The Brink

Soccer’s global governing body, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, said it is opening an investigation into claims that its president, Joseph “Sepp” Blatter, knew of alleged payments made to influence a coming election to lead the organization, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The probe into Blatter stems from allegations made by Qatar’s Mohamed bin Hammam, who is Blatter’s main rival for the FIFA presidency. ...

See the whole article here, courtesy of the WSJ.

Kicking Back Comments: Well. Let's just see how many friends Sepp has in other National Associations. Is this the final straw? If not, they might as well plan to bury him under the headquarters in Zurich as it would see that will be the only way he will be forced leave.

Just remember you saw it here first ...

... but there are some other interesting details in the blurb from Soccer America.

See them all here.

Kudos to Tom Weir (USA Today) and the Chicago Bulls

Often times I rail and whine here about the need for adults to act like adults and stop blaming a referee for their own circumstances. Tom Weir and the Chicago Bulls did exactly that ... they did not blame the referee.

In Weir's story (Did refs hose Bulls last night? Not really) he provides a thoughtful analysis of the free throw situation across the series thus far, clearly indicating that the result was "fairly predictable" that the Bulls did not get to the line that much in game 5. He actually used facts, real facts to show that:

Going into Game 4the FT tries were near even, with Miami holding a 68-67 edge. That wasn't to be expected, given that Miami was one of the NBA's best teams at getting to the line during the regular season. The Heat's 2,288 FT attempts ranked third, behind only Denver (2,429) and Oklahoma City (2,401). The Bulls ranked 11th.

Equally heartening was that the Bulls did not play "the ref card", as Weir calls it. There were several great quotes from the Bulls who, I think, had a very enlightened view of what happened.

The Bulls didn't play the ref card. Carlos Boozer told the Chicago Tribune that, "We've never been an excuse team. We're not going to start being an excuse team now. They got fouled, I guess we didn't."

Added Taj Gibson: "Whatever happens, you can't argue with the ref. They're going to make the call, so you have to keep playing. You can't hang your head and whine about the call. You have to keep playing."

It gave me great hope that there are some level heads out there that at least recognize, even if the referee is wrong, that you have to keep going. Believe me, referees reflect deeply on mistakes they made, and even ones they did not, to make things better. Having a player or coach bark at you in the press does not make things any better, or help the overall situation.

Kudos to Mr. Weir and the Bulls.

Easy as 1, 2, 3, 4 ...

There are times when the WWW is just silly. Here is an example.
I wish I had known this when I was working to become an MLS referee. =/

How to Become an MLS Official

Major League Soccer (MLS) is a soccer league for 13 top soccer teams in the United States and Canada. The group was founded in 1996 and has experienced major growth; by 2010, they hope to be made up of 16 teams. Follow these steps if you love soccer and would like to become an official in the MLS.

Difficulty:

 

Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. • 1
     Become a referee in the MLS. To become an MLS referee, you must be a National Referee in the United States Soccer Federation. You can only hold that position if you have officiated in over 500 games in a period of not less than 7 years.

See the full 4 step plan here, courtesy of eHow.com.

Wearing the black hat

The other day I was reminded of old spaghetti westerns, really most westerns where good guys wore white hats, and bad guys wore blacks hats.

As most of you know I coach a youth soccer team that Jr. is on. As part of that I work with all the players on a variety of topic and tend to things during the match like strategy (as much as their youth minds will absorb) and just general care and nurturing of players (e.g. bringing oranges and tending to minor injuries).

With memorial day weekend coming up, we played a Saturday/Sunday set to be able to take that weekend off. Saturday I was a coach and wearing the white hat, Sunday I was pressed into service as a referee and was clearly wearing the black hat.

Don't get me wrong, most of the kids on Jr's team were great and got what I was doing and in what capacity I was there. There were some however who were just outright mean at the prospect. After the match I tried to talk with them in a person to person context. They would have none of it.

I was shocked honestly that even just wearing a referee jersey changed me from approachable and helpful to shunned and suspicious.

Sometimes people forget that under the uniform (player or referee) is a person and that regardless of what color hat they wear, should deserve fundamental respect as a person.

I don't fault these kids, they are good kids and I know better, but they are learning it from somewhere. When I watch adults at these matches berating teenage players and referees however, it is no surprise that young players act the way they do, and that we are losing these young referees at a 50% rate year on year.

Paul Levy in his blog (Not Running a Hospital) summed it up nicely in his post, "Dear Coach."

Next time your out, keep in mind those little sponges are picking up everything we do as adults, and trying to mimic it in a way appropriate to them as very young kids. As you can imagine, it does not work out too well.

Just take a second and reflect before hurling that barb. You may end up saving a player or referees career in the process.

3 US Referees Selected for 2011 Gold Cup

Special thanks to Jeff for bringing this one forward.

Well folks the Gold Cup will soon be here. The tournament opens June 5th in Dallas. A schedule and tickets are available here.

In total, 15 referees and 15 assistant referees have been selected to referee in the tournament, pending successfully completing a fitness test the week prior in Dallas.

Further, our own Brian Hall in his capacity with CONCACAF is holding an Elite course in preparation for upcoming Champions League and World Cup qualification matches.

Among the list, found here, are US referees, Jair Marrufo and Baldomero Toledo, and US assistant referee Charles Morgante.

Best of luck to them all.

Legal or not?

Take a look at the video clip below, or here.

Legal under the LOTG?

If yes, no problem.
If no, misconducts? Restart?

Please share your comments below.

There's an app for that

The other day we spoke about concussion awareness.

One of our readers (Thanks Frenchie) brought forward an app that can help detect a concussion before bringing such a person to a medical professional to evaluate. Please note, no application is a substitute for a qualified medical opinion, except for the EMH program on Star Trek Voyager. But if you have one of those this whole thing is probably a moot point.

Take a peek ... it's free, and it takes up very little space (~9M) on your device.

It can be found here on iTunes.

Concussion Awareness

Kicking Back Comments: It is important for a referee to know the signs of a concussion in the event they run across a player who may have suffered one. Please note, referees are generally not Medical Doctors, and if they are, they can not successfully discharge both duties.

If there is doubt, ANY DOUBT that a player is injured, have them evaluated by a coach or trainer as soon as possible (i.e. stop the game). As I have said before, always err on the side of safety and no one can fault you.

See the good essay below from friend of THE game, and avid blogger, Paul Levy for a perspective from a youth soccer coach.

Really? A Concussion?

This is an essay written by Aub Harden, a fellow Under-14 soccer coach. It has an important message. Concussions are not just the province of professional football players, and they are not always obvious.

It’s Monday morning and we’ve just received a call with the verdict: "Yes, your daughter definitely has a concussion from her soccer game on Saturday."

Really? A concussion? ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of Not Running a Hospital

Open for debate

Fifa TV Debate: Add Your Support To Campaign

Sky News viewers are being urged to back a campaign for a televised debate between the two candidates for Fifa president.

The current chief of football's world governing body, Sepp Blatter, is still to respond to an invitation to take part in the head-to-head.

He received our invitation 46 days ago, but has yet to give a 'yes' or 'no' - despite growing support for the televised discussion.

When pressed for his answer last Wednesday, a spokesman for the 75-year-old responded by email to say: "We are still in (the) planning process and I will assure you to come back to you shortly." ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of Sky News.

Kicking Backs Comments: Well it's not a national football federation that is bringing some pressure, but having Sky News pushing on you is no small thing. I'll bet FIFA is not happy about this one. I'm waiting to hear from @FakeSepp on the matter. I doubt we will here from the real McCoy, unless it's "Bones" McCoy of Star Trek fame.

Deny and make counter allegations

FIFA executive committee member Worawi plans legal action over bribery accusations

BANGKOK, Thailand — FIFA executive committee member Worawi Makudi says he will file charges against former English Football Association chief David Triesman for making bribery accusations.

Worawi, also head of the Football Association of Thailand, has denied Triesman’s accusations that he demanded the television rights to a proposed Thailand-England friendly in exchange for supporting England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of the Washington Post.

Kicking Back Comments: You had to see this one coming. In my opinion, the one thing some of these FIFA execs like more than money and power, is their pride. I am predicting that this suit will go nowhere. It is just a way to create more confusion to distract us from watching an organization circling the drain.

There way be a couple of problems with the FA's stand against FIFA however. First, the FA itself is bogged down in corruption charges. Second, the FA alone can not change FIFA, it needs help. An interesting article is here that discusses these points.

Is there another brave national organization in the world willing to do the right thing? The time is now, as the FIFA presidential elections approaches.