Death by Banana?

So I will say up front I am not making light of the plight of Mario Bolotelli with my title. He would clearly seem to have endured racial abuse both on and off the pitch, and I for one have no tolerance for it.

My question is, are people really throwing bananas at him? Where is FIFA on that? Sepp ran as fast as he could to the nearest man of color on the FIFA EXCOM to show he was not racist last fall. Where is he now?

Sepp .... hello?

Check out "Throw bananas and I'll kill you, warns Man City striker Balotelli ahead of Euros" from Mail Online and you'll get a sense of just how graphic and poorly behaved some fans are.

Like I said, I have no tolerance for it and neither should FIFA.

Rangers Get a Red Card?

FIFA may yet act to eject Rangers: Governing body monitoring SFA action

FIFA warned the SFA it will monitor what action is taken against Rangers after the Ibrox club successfully challenged their transfer embargo at the Court of Session.

And there were fears that a spiralling situation could ultimately end with Rangers having their SFA membership terminated — or FIFA handing down a ban on Scottish clubs entering European competition and Scotland playing internationals.

A new dimension to the already complicated and fraught situation at Ibrox began when a judge ruled that an SFA Judicial Panel did not have the power to impose a 12-month registration ban after finding the club guilty of disrepute charges. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of Mail Online.

Kicking Back Comments: Anyone following the $$ on this one? Should be clear if FIFA is challenging in court, it must be losing something.

"Huffing and Puffing" Redux

Paul Levy strikes again with a good article from Not Running A Hospital. In this episode, Huffing and Puffing, Paul and some refereeing colleagues detail anecdotal examples of how the fitness levels of players has changed over the years. He comes to an interesting conclusion on that front as well. Take a look at the article, it was somewhat of a surprise ending that I don't completely disagree with.

It got me thinking however, not only do we have a larger rate of "more unfit players" (my term - and I don't think that is anecdotal, but is supported by good evidence regarding childhood weight), but I would also opine, even purely as a matter of sampling, that we also have a larger number of unfit referees.

Now there is a continuum here to be sure. Referees at the International and Professional level train nearly every day, and need to, to be able to keep up with the game. As you traverse the ranks, there is really less and less training required at the typical town level. If you go to a tournament like the Dallas Cup, all bets are off as those players in most groups are very experienced, very fit, and professionally trained. They will not hesitate to take advantage of a referee who has a "blind spot" because they can not get to a particular play.

Long story short, if you don't want to train to referee, to do well, you should plan to keep it in the youth soccer world (like U-12 and below who need a manager more than a referee), and fairly local. This may sound like a jab to youth soccer (who need good referees!), but it is really just intended to reinforce the point that you can not referee a match to train, to be ready to referee. It's a circular argument that holds no water.

Now, you can use matches to supplement your training. I used to do this a bunch where I would work a amateur match regularly to ready myself mentally and physically for a professional match. It was a "tuner" as it was. But to do no training, at all, and show up on Sunday for a match is not good practice, and frankly is not good training.

Think about it this way, you are training once a week in the event you are competing in. While I would agree by the end of a 3 month season you may have a marginal increase in fitness is it really the fitness you need for a match? Also, what about all those matches you were not "match fit" for? Is this fair to those teams?

I think not.

Train to referee ... not referee to train.

A Lesson from Indy

So in cruising the information superhighway, I saw the video below. Take a quick peek.



Player (in white) was getting cute, yes?

Referee is nowhere to be seen, which may be a bad think as if this player does not get rid of the ball, an opponent may have the mind to go in and clean his clock, just for showboating.

In cases like this, it is important for the referee to be aware, or bad things can happen.

Case in point is the clip below from Indiana Jones.



Any questions?

"Secret Drink Mix"

So dear friends, tournament season is upon us, and as many have heard me say in the past, refereeing at tournaments is an endurance sport.

At these events you are endurance athletes and need to fuel yourself like endurance athletes.

This is a topic near and dear to my heart as in my post-refereeing life I too am an endurance athlete in a different sport, cycling. These lessons are directly relatable though, and I offer an article on the topic here.

The author is Dr. Allen Lim, an exercise physiologist for Omega-Pharma-Quickstep pro cycling team. His blog post, Hydration Science and Practice, is a good reminder about how to fuel your body, and why just water is not enough, and some popular sports drinks are too much.

He does have an electrolyte solution for sale that I have not tried, so I don't have any comment on it yet, but (and more importantly of this discussion), the science involved is spectacular and worth looking at for any endurance athlete. I have included the video here which details his experiment.



Truly fascinating stuff, and a reminder about what it takes to keep and endurance athlete working at capacity for long stretches of time.

Think about it, a multi day stage race for cycling, 3 to 5 hours in the saddle churning for much of that time, for a few days in a row. Youth tournament play, several game sets, 5+ hours in a day working or exposed, for several days back to back. Both are demanding .... very demanding ... and there is some sharing between the two I feel.

"Secret Drink Mix" comes from Dr. Lim himself where he worked on the Tour de France in secretly replacing the overly sweet drinks supplied by the sponsor with his own, all natural recipes. Riders loved them, and thrived using this formula. As it was kept from the sponsors it became known as the "Secret Drink Mix."

Today, Dr. Lim and company can be found dispensing products, advice, and a most excellent cookbook (The FeedZone Cookbook) at SkratchLabs. If you are really interested, he has his "Secret Drink Mix" available for sale also, here.

Welcome Lydia!!

FIFA names woman to executive committee for first time

BUDAPEST (Reuters) -- FIFA co-opted a woman to its executive committee for the first time on Tuesday and continued its reform process by pressing ahead with changes to its ethics committee.

Lydia Nsekera, the president of the Burundi Football Association, will be installed as the co-opted executive committee member at the 62nd FIFA Congress this week with the formal election of a woman on the committee to follow at next year's Congress, soccer's governing body said in a statement.

Nsekera, 45, is a member of the women's football and the women's World Cup committees and is also on the organising committee for the Olympic Football Tournaments having been part of the IOC since 2009. ...

See the whole story here, from SI.

Kicking Back Comments: It would be sad to think that this move came out of exclusively an effort to reform, and not also out of a sense to include someone who is deserving to be an EXCOM member. She is president of the Fédération de Football du Burundi since 2004, and has been a member of the International Olympic Committee since 2009. Far more credentialed than some others who currently hold a seat.

Either way, I'll take it, as it is a step in the right direction.

Sometimes you have to roll the dice

So for those who have been following me for a while, you know that I am also a huge cycling fan. For those who have been unlucky enough to sit through one of my presentations on teamwork I go into great details about cycling, how they work together, and how they need each other to win.

Another refereeing lesson was reenforced for me the other day from the cycling world when I was watching stage 7 of the Amgen Tour of California. It was about taking risks.

You can see a profile of the stage here ... it is basically straight up.

Now, Chris Horner (of my favorite team - Radio Shack Nissan Trek) is last years winner, and was expected by many to repeat again this year. Only problem was that he was down 2:30ish in the General Classification (GC) before stage 7, meaning basically he had very little chance, short of a catastrophe for many other rides, to win the GC.

Knowing this was the case, at the beginning of the stage, he collected several members of his team, and "Swung for the GC Fence."

He knew it was a long shot, and basically did not care what everyone else thought ... he went for it, and very nearly won it all with such an epic risk.

Refereeing can be like that sometimes. You have to take that risk. It might be in the form of playing an advantage, maybe it is NOT cautioning a player that did not "feel" right to do. Maybe it is sending off a player straight away to keep the match from going into disrepute.

In all matches there are elements of risk involved. After all, you don't know what is going to happen when you choose A over B. Sometimes picking one path has more risk than another. There are times that we do this knowingly as a referee to move to a particular desired outcome, ultimately to manage a match. There are times however, we make a decision not being fully aware what the outcome may be.

In all cases however, when we learn about the risks, we have to be ready to take them. There are times taking these risks (with the best of intentions) will yield disaster. There are also times when they will yield a beautiful match.

Taking no risks however may yield the same results, but you will get there in a far more unpredictable fashion than if you were to take the risk. After all, this is the magic of refereeing soccer where the referee is allowed such wide discretion to manage the match how they see fit, and take those chances to allow the magic to happen.

Joao Going Home

Former FIFA President Joao Havelange set to leave hospital next week

SAO PAULO — Doctors says former FIFA President Joao Havelange is expected to leave the hospital next week, more than two months after being admitted with a serious infection on his right ankle.

The Hospital Samaritano said Friday the 96-year-old Havelange improved significantly after leaving semi-intensive care last week and will be allowed to return home in a few days if his health doesn’t deteriorate. ...

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

Kicking Back Comments: I am happy to see this, and I have to believe Joao is too. 

I did get a laugh though in the article in his leaving "semi-intensive case." What the heck is that? It made it sound like is was a "kind of" serious issue. I would think it was *serious* until it was not.

Ladies and gentlemen, demonstrating cunning logic like this is why I am an engineer and not a doctor.

EA is at it again ...

Developers EA Sports has revealed a range of innovations for its latest upcoming game FIFA 13.

The game comes with new features giving realistic touch with improved artificial intelligence. FIFA 13 introduces game changing features like Complete Dribbling, First Touch Control and Attacking Intelligence.

"We are perfecting the best sports game in the world with innovations that capture all the drama and unpredictability of real-world football," said David Rutter, Executive Producer for FIFA 13 in a press release. "These are game-changing innovations that will revolutionize our artificial intelligence, dribbling, ball control and collisions to create a true battle for possession across the entire pitch, and deliver freedom and creativity in attack," Rutter added. ...

See the whole story here, from GamenGuide.com.

Kicking Back Comments: I remain amazed at this EA franchise and how incredibly lucrative it remains for them. I would still love to see a "player" option through the referee eyes. Not a big seller likely (and I recognize that this is what it is all about at the end of the day), but neat none the less.

Becks, POTUS, and Underwear

Well it was good to hear about the LA Galaxy visit to the White House the other day. It is a tradition that goes back for some time for presidents to greet winners of major sports competitions.

As some may recall I wrote about the kerfuffle that Tim Thomas caused when he chose not to visit the White House. Becks, excuse me Sir David Beckham, would never insult a world leader, or his team in that way.

Apparently POTUS took a few jabs at Becks however, kiddingly calling him "old", and commenting on his underwear (ad).

I'll admit, it was pretty funny.


Take a look at the whole thing here, including video, from the NY Daily News.

Welcome Back!

Dear Readers of Kicking Back,

Thanks for being patient with me over the last 3 or so weeks when I have been off and left to my own devices.

It has been a stark reminder of how "real life" can catch up when you are not looking. Gratefully nothing "bad" to be sure, in fact some great stuff, but change none the less that has taken me away from you. For that I am sorry as I enjoy our time here.

A special thanks to those who have reached out over that time, just to check in.

To kick things off right (so to speak) on my return for the abyss, is to reenforce how to send off a coach, or for that matter any team official,  with a neat video from US Soccer in "Ask, Tell, Dismiss."

It's a good video that can help referees take an "easy" 3 step approach, to what can be a very difficult issue.

So please enjoy the video, and the articles coming your way in the days to come as we start to get into the heart of the season.

Programming Note

Friends,

Over the next couple of days I am going to be traveling and "unplugged" as it were.

During this time, please feel free to browse the archives at right and before you know it, we'll be back at it with the spring season in full swing.

Thanks for reading,
PK

REVOLT!

FA should ignore Fifa and police its own game

The Football Association is full of talented people working tirelessly for the betterment of the game. Yet admitting at dinner parties that you work for the organisation these days must be a bit like confessing that in your spare time you microwave small animals on behalf of a consortium of leading merchant banks. Or worse, that you are a journalist. ...

See the whole story here, from The Telegraph.

Kicking Back Comments: There are (2) key passages that jumped out at me.

The first is the relationship between FIFA and any National Association:

But instead of recognising that it has the power properly to intervene, the FA behaves like the society hostess upbraided by George Bernard Shaw.

“Would you sleep with me for a million pounds?” legend has it the playwright asked her. “Yes,” came back the speedy reply. “Good, so would you sleep with me for a pound?”

“What kind of woman do you take me for?” she spluttered in indignation. “We have already established that,” replied Shaw. “We are now merely haggling over the price.”

Boy do I agree with this. FIFA should leave the associations alone to run their leagues. International play ... different story. I think that works and FIFA should appreciate it as FIFA does what is best for themselves, let the country folks do what is best as well.

The other passage is:

Professional referees have demonstrated they are willing to accept responsibility for their errors in the pursuit of improvement.

The FA, however, makes them look a body of men cowering behind procedure that covers up incompetence and punishes innocence. That is not the characteristic of a robust, self-confident organization.

To which I say ... CAN I HAVE AN AMEN!?!

Recognizing and adjusting to errors is a hallmark of the very best referees. The very, very best do this within a particular match so the adjustment is instant.

To have the league "whitewash" an issue when the referee genuinely knows he blew something is not productive, in fact it is counter productive. Now this is a fine balance as most folks are really undereducated to what may have actually happened, but if a referee screwed up, I think, and the author seems to agree, get it out there, learn from it, and move on.

If as referees we are not doing this anyway after EVERY SINGLE MATCH, there is something wrong.

A hilarious video ... with a serious message

Take a look at this ... it is hilarious.



Now take a read here, from Yahoo! Sports, and a look at www.fairworldcup.org.

Not so funny anymore.

Stories regarding FIFA's rule and profit they took in South Africa are far and wide. I'm certainly not accusing FIFA of any of that, and not denying the organization to make money. However if any of these stories are true ... and there is some evidence to show that it is ... it will be really quite sad.

It looks like fairworldcup.org is following this, and I will eagerly watch the developments as the World Cup draws closer.

Lest there be any question ...

So Easter Sunday was, despite the colder weather, good. I watched all of the coverage of Tom Boonen's "2-fer" with his win at  Paris-Roubaix, after his win last week at the Tour de Flanders.

I was able to get out for a ride myself, no where near those speeds of course, but was thinking about the grand tour series that is upon us, and who these cycling athletes have respect for.

In looking around several pro cycling sites, I cam across the Katusha Team (THE Russian Global Cycling Project ... I love that) and took note that in all the riders bio's was the answer to "Who is your favorite soccer team?"

I found that interesting as you generally don't see "Who is your favorite NBA team?" when you see a bio with a NFL player.

Why the overlap? I think because soccer is so universal, that you can ask any (non-american) athlete who their favorite soccer team is and they will have an answer.

Soccer is Life.

By the way, lest there be any question that the Grand Tour season is upon us for cycling ... take a look below. It again looks to be an awesome time in Italy ... and with a start in Denmark.

I have to find a reason to get over there for work =)

More protests and complaints for Brazil

Brazil's World Cup Lag Grows Dire and Angry Words Fly

Brazil may be the world's soccer capital, but as the country gears up to host the World Cup in 2014, a war of words between the government and FIFA, soccer's ruling body, just keeps intensifying.

The hostilities have followed a predictable pattern: FIFA criticizes Brazil for being behind with preparations; Brazil gets in a huff; FIFA apologizes. Then it starts all over again.

In the latest round, FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke caused a storm when he said that Brazil needed a "kick up the backside." Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo said the secretary general should be removed from his post. Marco Aurelio Garcia, a foreign-policy adviser to Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, exclaimed:"This guy is a vagabond!" ...

See the whole story here, from Bloomberg.

Kicking Back Comments: Very best line in the article is ""We want actions, not just more words," Blatter said."

How great is that? The ethics of FIFA is falling down around him and he is willing to sit back and watch as the governing institution for The Game crumbles around him.

Yet, you get anywhere near his wallet, and watch out, its time for action.

It is laughable frankly.

I'll give it to FIFA ... they published it.

Well kudos where they are due, and I openly give it to FIFA for publishing the report the Ex-Com received from an independent authority the Basal Institute on Governance.

The report can be see here (.pdf) from the site.

It is a quick read with nothing in it that is shocking or scandalous. It contains some middle of the road (and very important) controls on organizations like FIFA.

Of particular interest to be was the creation of term limits, which I think is needed in any such position.

To put it in perspective, there have only been (8) FIFA presidents ... ever ... since FIFA was created in 1904 (source). This makes the average tenure of a FIFA president 13.5 years.

Longest serving president was Jules Rimet (sound familiar?) with 33 years of service!

Now, is 2 or 4 years too short for something like this? I would be included to say yes, and believe on the order of 6 years is on target for such a position. That said Sepp is going to be pushing 16 years by the time he will consider stepping down.

I'd bet a wooden nickel that Sepp will be happy to implement some of these changes on his way out the door.

I digress however, I really do give FIFA credit for posting the report. It is a good first step.

Brazil v. FIFA, Round 2

Brazil Senate Reignites FIFA Spat by Canceling Valcke Meeting

Brazil’s Senate canceled a meeting with FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke, reigniting a spat with soccer’s ruling body a month after the South American country tried to remove him as the lead representative for the planning of the 2014 World Cup.

A Senate committee overseeing preparations for the tournament said the institution needs to be represented at a hearing scheduled originally for April 11 by its President, Sepp Blatter, and not by Valcke, according to a statement on the Senate’s website today. A new hearing is still to be scheduled, the committee said in the statement. ...

See the full article here, courtesy of Bloomberg.

Kicking Back Comments: This is starting to get good. Sepp is standing by his man, but Brazil wants nothing to do with him. Any guesses on what is next? By the way, Brazil has still not amended its sovereign law to meet FIFA's whims of serving alcohol in stadiums. Is it a money thing, or just Valcke?

Please stop talking ...

So big kudos to Paul Levy in my book for another excellent take on a youth soccer incident. One that I believe he read just right.

Take a look at "When "violent" is not "brutal"" from NRAH.

Let me say that I largely agree with Paul's analysis and appreciate his candor in the matter. After viewing the clip embedded in the article and the article itself I had two similar follow on points.

First, I really dislike the media. I recognize in a way I am part of the institution with Kicking Back, but there is a stark difference. I write to provoke thought through strong and sometimes "tongue in cheek" analysis. I do not like "sensationalistic" commentary.

I have commented about this in the past with some of the reporting that is done around the MLS and is intended to get a headline, not perform genuine analysis. This story strikes me as similar, lots of flash, not much substance. To somehow turn a foul from the back (that was not deserving of the punches thrown by the opponent) into a violent attack where "law enforcement" had to be called in and people were calling for "punishment" under the legal system is just ridiculous. Player lost their cool, yes. Parents behaving badly, yes. Media grossly inflating a "school yard" skirmish, defiantly.

Second, and please put this in the advice column, DON'T TALK TO THE MEDIA as a referee.

Now for those who are not familiar, there is a policy for how to conduct yourself, and it can be found in the Administrative Handbook here on page 43, and states:

Guidelines for Contact With Media
Referees

Game Officials should use good judgment based on the referee Code of Ethics when speaking to the media.

Game Officials should:

1. Not, under any conditions, discuss the politics of the game or the sport. 
2. Stick to what you know as it relates directly to your personal experience in the game of soccer. 
3. Relate only factual information about a game. Do not discuss judgment calls that were made. 
4. Avoid making declarations, which amount to speaking for other people. 
5. Represent yourself, your state association and the game in a positive and enthusiastic way.

That aside, very little good can come from sharing an opinion with the media as a referee. Listen, I get it, it can be a thrill to be interviewed about something you love to do. I've been there, and made that mistake a couple of times, so I don't fault this referee at all as I am certain this was his first rodeo.

However, don't get caught off guard. This can indeed happen to any of us on any given day, and don't be fooled, reporters are not there to make friends with you when the cameras are rolling, just get a story. After the cameras are off, you're on your own and speaking personally I have found having a relationship with a reporter on a personal basis is not a bad thing. Like most things, it depends on the person.

So, if you find yourself in a similar situation ... heck even without the media, but parents asking "what the heck happened", your responsibility is to make a report to the league. Frankly that is your best response. If someone (other than the league) wants to know what happened, you are better off saying "I'm sorry, I can't discuss this until the league is made aware of the facts", or something to that effect. That of course is not reasonable if interviewed by the police ... but even there ... just the facts, not an opinion.

Don't forget, those who are asking may not be all good faith actors and may indeed twist your words to make a trap for fools. It is not unimaginable to find yourself on a witness stand defending your comments (or video of your comments) in some form of litigation.

You can't get in trouble for not saying anything to media/parents/coaches ... so play it safe, and don't.

Written reports and answering media questions are certainly a part of being a higher level referee, and aspects that we will address later in time as I personally have learned some brutal lessons there.

UEFA Experimenting with Referee Speed Drills

Well UEFA had to get in on the technology experiments like FIFA. Just take a look at the video below. In the same vein of adding more referees to cover move of the field, here is an experiment where UEFA still has (4) referees, but in the interest of having the man in the middle more mobile, is issuing a Segway to each to allow them to cover more ground per match.

No word from IFAB yet, the World's Law making authority, if the measure will be taken up next year at the annual meeting where goal line technology was approved just weeks ago to move forward in the international game.

See the whole story here, from the Sun.