Defending her caution?

U.S. soccer player says Canadian fans chanted racial slurs at her

U.S. women's soccer forward Sydney Leroux tweeted Monday that she was subjected to racial slurs and taunts during her team's 3-0 win Sunday over Canada in Toronto.

Leroux, born outside Vancouver to a Canadian mother and American father, is a controversial figure in Canada because she switched national soccer allegiances. She played on Canada's 2004 Under-19 World Cup team before helping lead the U.S. to the Under-20 World Cup title in 2008. She has played for the U.S. ever since. ...

See the whole story here, from CBS Sports.

Kicking Back Comments: I am going to leave the whole racial side out for this, other than to say I'm sure there is a blue ribbon panel somewhere in FIFA occurring about this ... or not, because it's women's football. By the way, the CSA reported no such racial incidents, despite truly vile comments on Twitter, and collected by US Soccer.

My angle on this one is the celebration after Leroux's goal, even with the backdrop of the despicable comments strewn at her.

Let's go to some FIFA interpretations found here. Take a look at slide 50, 2nd bullet, which states the following should be cautioned when:

"In the opinion of the referee, a player makes gestures that are provocative, derisory or inflammatory when celebrating a goal."

Leroux's immigration to the US aside, her gesture with the crest of her jersey after scoring her goal certainly qualifies as provocative, derisory, and inflammatory. If this was done in the US and not Canada, I would not caution her, as in such a case her gesture would have been to an American crowd, and likely interpreted as an appropriate celebration. If gestured to an opposing player, not so much.

Context means a bunch in such celebrations.

Image if a US player scored a goal in Mexico City, and did the same thing. There would be genuine safety concerns, and a referee would do well to send off such an offender or "grave disorder" may soon follow.

Her teammates defending her while understandable, shows a clear lack of understanding the LOTG. I also don't think they cared as they were coming to the defense of a team mate. 

I appreciate the vile comment hurled at her, and the team, US Soccer, CSA, and FIFA's reaction to them ... should they ever come from anyone other than her team ... but Leroux is responsible for her actions inside the field and made her point, and was cautioned for it.

Let me me clear, the comments and actions to demean Leroux are outrageous and someone, anyone, needs to show some leadership in this regard. For the referee's part however, she did exactly the right thing and booker her.

To her credit, Leroux accepted it without further incident.

Congrats to Japan!!

Japan becomes 1st team to reach 2014 World Cup

SAITAMA, Japan (AP) — Keisuke Honda made sure Japan became the first team to qualify for the 2014 World Cup by calmly converting a stoppage-time penalty kick Tuesday for a 1-1 draw against Australia.

Tommy Oar had given Australia a 1-0 lead in the 82nd minute with a lob over Japan goalkeeper Eiji Kawasahima. But a handball by Matthew McKay in the last minute of regulation set up the penalty for Honda, who beat Australia goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer with a left-footed shot into the top of the net.

Japan needed at least a point to clinch a spot in next year's World Cup in Brazil from Group B in Asian qualifying. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of Yahoo! Sports.

Kicking Back Comments: Ok folks, we have (3) teams qualified now ... strap in ... the best is coming.

When does reputation matter?

To start, lets take a look here at Matt Cooke's hit on Adan McQuaid in Game 1 of the Eastern Finals.



Now, in a bottle, Cooke got exactly what he deserved. He received a game misconduct (send off) and took no further suspension from the NHL. This was widely accepted by most knowledgeable on all sides of the issue.

But now let's start taking it out of the bottle with some of Matt Cooke's history:



My question to this audience is, what is a referee to do? Do they act proactively and "eagle eye" a player like Cooke until he does something, then send him off, or even get a bit more heavy handed?

Or, do you take each match as a "clean slate" and let it build up until something happens?

Where does the league come in ... and what if there is no league per se to administer punishments. A good example may be a youth league when there are so many participants that only the most egregious are dealt with.

For me, a referee has to do their homework and first understand the key match ups, stars, and villains.

Cooke is clearly a villain based on his behavior. This also go beyond a typical "goon" employed in hockey that is there to drop the gloves in tactical situations to make a point, he seemingly tries, and has succeeded to injure other players.

With this in mind, a referee can't prejudge what is going to happen, it has to happen before a referee can act. That said, a referee can certainly make a player like Cooke feel uncomfortable by putting them, and TELLING THEM, there are under extra scrutiny, in an artful way.

From there, if such a player strays from "the line", they should receive the absolute maximum allowed under the LOTG.

Some may say this is biasing a result based on a  players history, and that is true. Think about a couple of things however.

First, is a similar tact taken with players who simulate? They are generally the same players, and they flop, match, after match, after match. Referees see the pattern, and are less inclined bite the more this happens, especially if they have been suckered for a goal or two. A referee waits for the event, and then makes a determination ... with an eye toward history.

Second, is match management. What would happen if a player was allowed time and time again to come back and take shots to injure another?

Mayhem.

Players would take matters into their own hands, and indeed may if Cooke tries something like this again in this series.

A referee will do well to protect the game from ANY who try to damage it.

On a final note, the league and team have responsibility here too, and I believe in equal parts. There has to come a point that these guys take a look at the cumulative effect of Cooke's hits, and make the courageous decision that he is there is injure, not play The Game.

Referees do not have that ability, and have to rely on incidents they witness to take action ... even severe action to protect the game.

I expect more from the league, and the team who employs such a troubled player.

U.S. Soccer Beats Germany (2nd Team)

U.S. Soccer Beats Germany 4-3: Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore Score Goals

WASHINGTON — The United States can head into a key stretch with some added confidence.

Clint Dempsey scored twice in a five-minute span of the second half and moved into second place on the U.S. career scoring list, helping the Americans edge a second-string Germany team 4-3 in an exhibition game Sunday.

Preparing for three World Cup qualifiers in a 12-day span beginning Friday, U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann watched the Americans take a 4-1 lead and hang on to beat the team he helped win the 1990 World Cup as a player and coached to the 2006 semifinals. ...

See the whole story here, from the HuffPo

Kicking Back Comments: A good day in the park in fron of 47000+ to be sure for the MNT. This puts Dempsey within (14) of LD (seen here in his recent Cambodia walk about).

Before we go crazy about the result though (wink wink media outlets), lets see this one for what it is ... a confidence builder before going into a very tough road stretch.

Do you think the referee knew this before walking out yesterday? Should they?

How much does the type of match influence your approach (youth, amateur, professional, friendly)?

Should it?

My answer is "yes" to all of these.

 

Richard Nieuwenhuizen Trail Update

Dead Dutch linesman trial: suspects speak in court

The dead Dutch linesman trial started today in court. Suspects could speak in court today. Some did, but their stories didn’t always match. ...

A full recap if the trail can be found here, courtesy of Dutch Referee.

Kicking Back Comments: Sentence demanded was for 6 years ... when this first broke I commented about "Restorative Justice" and my concerns for it ... I hope I was wrong in my thinking.

It's HOT Out There

Playing Matches in the Heat: Dehydration and Performance

Often matches are played in hot, humid conditions. In this environment, the body attempts to cool itself by increasing the sweat rate. Unfortunately, the fluid lost through sweat can lead to dehydration. Laboratory research has shown that even mild dehydration can impact physical performance, reducing strength, power and endurance. Researchers from the United Kingdom and Denmark approached the question of heat, dehydration and performance in a different manner. They took their experiment to the pitch and asked if competing in the heat influences post-match physical performance. Their results show that playing elite, competitive matches in a hot environment adversely affect explosive performance and that the change in performance may be linked to dehydration. ...

See the whole story here, from The Science of Soccer Online.

Kicking Back Comments: As we in the North East US have recently experienced, we have gone from winter to full blown summer with temperatures and humidity in the 90's the last few days.

I can not stress enough in how a referee is an active participant in a match as too should consider themselves an endurance athlete.

As such this requires exercice, diet, and hydration concerns to be successful.

While this particular article details the concerns and dangers of dehydration, particular attention should be paid as well to caloric intake and exertion level during a match.

An additional wrinkle in this, is a referee should also be aware of the signs of dehydration, as the referee is not only responsible for themselves and their crew, but for levels that do not have a trainer or medical staff available, a referee can certainly point out to the competent authority (e.g. coach) if they feel a player is in distress.

You always want to finish with 11 a side folks. A good referee, at all levels, works to keep it that way.

Somehow this has to be the referees fault. No?

Kicking Back Comments: Ouch. Take a look at the number of related videos too.

Here's one for you all however on a serious note. Does a referee use this later in the match if that player, or others, give a referee grief about a decision?

Fair game?

Sepp's Sexism On Full Display

Sepp Blatter calls female Fifa candidate 'good and good-looking'

In the week Fifa said it was to expand the number of women-only positions on the world body's executive committee from one to three,Sepp Blatter, its gaffe-prone president, has described one of the candidates for the elected role, Australia's Moya Dodd, as "good, and good-looking".

Blatter made the comment in an address to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) delegates at Fifa's conference in Mauritiuson Wednesday. Dodd, vice-president of the AFC, diplomatically side-stepped the issue, saying she was, "mainly focused on hearing [Blatter's] comments about me being a good candidate … If he said anything more, then thanks for that, too". ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of The Guardian.

Kicking Back Comments: Oh Sepp. You just won't change will you?

Boy in looking back, it has been a banner week for FIFA. Gotta love when the FIFA Congress gets together.

FIFA Ethics ... Still A Joke

Blatter Says FIFA Congress Must Enact Changes to Prevent Crimes

FIFA President Sepp Blatter said soccer’s governing body must enact changes to allow the sport to continue the fight against corruption even as some former advisers question the group’s reform plans.

The ruling body’s 209 members will vote on proposed changes this week at FIFA’s annual meeting on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius this week. Blatter said the process follows an “extensive consultation process” that started in 2011, the year when the Zurich-based body was forced by stakeholders including sponsors of its $5 billion World Cup to reform following graft allegations.

“We have a democratic process in place, we follow it,” Blatter said in an interview with FIFA.com. “Between 2011 and 2013, I made a lot of effort to take this reform process as far as I could, but it is now up to the FIFA Congress to decide on these measures.”

Former advisers have criticized FIFA, which Blatter has headed since 1998, for not doing enough to crack down on corruption. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of Bloomberg.

Kicking Back Comments: It is well summarized in this quote:

"Alexandra Wrage, president of Trace International, a non-profit organization in Canada that provides anti-bribery compliance advice to multinational companies, left the advisory group created by Blatter to suggest reforms. She claimed the work was the “least productive project” of her career."

Sounds about right.

FIFA Finally Does Something on Racism

Fifa ready to introduce five-game bans for players guilty of racism

Fifa is set to follow England's lead and bring in a mandatory five-match ban for players found guilty of racism, while also introducing points deductions for clubs where fans are serial offenders.

The five-match ban is being proposed by Fifa's new task force on racism and, if agreed by the governing body of world football's congress next week, all 209 member countries will have to adopt the rule. ...

See the whole story here, from the Guardian.

Kicking Back Comments: (5) Matches is not enough ... but it is a start, and better than nothing.

It does pale in comparison to what UEFA has already done in this regard, with a minimum (10) match ban.

Best and worst comments on the topic:

First from Jeffery Webb who chairs this committee for FIFA: 
"Finally, we're having some action on this. This is something that's long overdue."

Uh Jeff ... you chair the committee ... and have the ability to make things happen, right? Any delay, would seem to be of your own, and your boss' (FIFA) making. No whining about delays please.

Next from Michel Platini, president of UEFA:

"This is a great moment in our struggle against racism."

It most certainly is not Michel. It is a pathetic testament to the fact we have the problem in the first place. We should not be celebrating that we are dealing with such a social issue. We should just deal with it. To give it any due serves to celebrate our own barbarism. I for one am willing to acknowledge the fact, work for change, and solve the issue, not pat ourselves on the back for thinking a (5) match ban for racial epitaphs is "doing the right thing" and is a giant step forward.

It is not.

A Happy Memorial Day to All ... Let Us Not Forget ...

America's oldest veteran to spend quiet Memorial Day at Texas home

For his 107th Memorial Day, Richard Arvine Overton, who saw many of his fellow soldiers fall in the line of duty in World War II and even more die over the following decades, is planning a quiet day at the Texas home he built after returning home from World War II.

He wouldn’t want it any other way. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of Fox News.

Kicking Back Comments: We should all be so lucky to serve our (respective) country with distinction, and live such a long and healthy life.

Here's to 108 Mr. Overton.

Sad, and True

Which Calls (or Non-Calls) Create the Most Disagreements Between Football/Soccer Players, Fans & Coaches and Referees

Offside, Handling & "I was Going for the Ball"

Football (or in the U.S., soccer) players, coaches, and fans suffer from a number of misconceptions about laws or interpretations that cause unnecessary dissent, delay or distraction to ongoing play in matches. ...

See the whole article here, from Yahoo!

Kicking Back Comments: I have to agree with the author here. At the youth level, I would say these are the top 3.

A Bit More Color

Bundesliga CEO rips FIFA over Qatar's World Cup

LONDON (AP) — The head of the Bundesliga criticized FIFA on Wednesday for awarding the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, saying the decision "is not for the good of the game." ...

See the whole story here, from USA Today.

Kicking Back Comments: I shared this story just yesterday on the topic but found the USA Today story that much better. It does bring up the spectre of a revote of the timing of the tournament changes.

I wonder in such a case if we would "cross swords" with the UK to host?

Bundesliga CEO slam FIFA

Bundesliga CEO slam FIFA

The head of the German Bundesliga has slammed FIFA's decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, saying the decision "is not for the good of the game."

Christian Seifert, speaking in London ahead of the all-German Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, said staging the tournament in the tiny desert nation's summer heat could endanger the health of players and fans.

"The priority is always first the health of the players and this is what makes me most upset that the decision was done that ignores probably the health of the players and that ignores what is real in the game," Seifert said. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of ninemsn.com.au

Kicking Back Comments: Best line in the article was:

""We are really happy that FIFA recognises it's warm in the summer in Qatar. This is a great, great finding," said Seifert, who is also vice president of the German Football Association."

I laughed out loud at the audible of the head of the Bundesliga saying this with as much sarcasm as possible. Just beautiful.

There is mounting pressure to revisit this .... with even Sepp saying last week it seems hard to imagine the tournament being played in the dead of summer ... in a desert.

Clearly they thought the details all the way through ....

"The Don's" Latest (really good) Move

Yanks, Manchester City awarded MLS expansion team

In partnership of sports' biggest names, New York City Football Club to play in 2015

Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber announced today that a partnership of global sports powers, Manchester City Football Club and the New York Yankees, has acquired the League's 20th expansion club. The new team will be named New York City Football Club (NYCFC) and expects to begin play in 2015.

"We proudly welcome two of the most prestigious professional global sports organizations to Major League Soccer," said MLS Commissioner Don Garber. "This is a transformational development that will elevate the league to new heights in this country. The New York area is home to more than 19 million people, and we look forward to an intense crosstown rivalry between New York City Football Club and the New York Red Bulls that will captivate this great city." ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of MLB.com.

Kicking Back Comments: Say what you will about MLS and "The Don" (I for one have not always been positive) ... this is a shrewd move by MLS and it makes me happy to see growth in the league ... still.

Other than California, I agree with the point that the New York area should be able to sustain a 2nd MLS team.

Personally I would also love to see an expansion team in the New Bedford (MA), Northern Rhode Island area as well, as I have to believe a team may do well there too.

2018 expansion? 

120' Toss

So take a peek at this clip generously provided by MLB. There is quite a bit going on.



So we have Bryce Harper (stats) in the 1st inning of the Nationals v. Pirates the other week. A check swing that was appealed by the Pirates catcher, and was called a 3rd strike by 3rd base umpire, and crew chief, John Hirschbeck (bio).

Based on the account here, Harper gave him the "stink eye" and dropped his bat. From the video Hirschbeck obviously reacted, in an ... unorthodox manner.

It was actually quite clever as it gave Harper the opportunity for pause and just walk away as (in Hirschbeck's words) "... he was trying to show me up."

From there, there were (2) subtle management pieces going on. First was at :12 of the video when the home plate umpire engages Harper from reacting any more than he did already by dropping his bat, it would seem in protest.

Also, at :16, you can see Hirschbeck walk toward home plate, and stop for the 3rd base coach and send him to talk to his player.

From there Harper throws his helment (for the 2nd time this year) and was ejected.

A staggering analysis can be found here at the Umpire Ejection Fantasy League.

So there was good and bad for me in this one from all sides.

Harper was wrong to "show up" Hirschbeck through his actions, and was properly ejected for it, full stop.

Hirschbeck was unorthodox, some say inflammatory, in his actions by raising his hands, and may have done better to just yell and point (being 120' away makes some of this tough), and his action may have been a way to try and bridge that distance. It may have also been an attempted technique that went wrong. (These guys don't get AAA games to try new tactics out remember)

Hirschbeck was still justified to send Harper for his conduct, that was even after being spoken to by the home plate umpire, and 3rd base coach.

Closing comments go to Harper as in looking at the interview here, I though Harper came off a lot better personally ... and in the big leagues folks (future MLS and FIFA guys take note), this stuff matters a bunch.

We Promise!

FIFA guarantees that Sao Paulo World Cup stadium will be ready on time

FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke has guaranteed Sao Paulo's World Cup football stadium will be ready on time, one day after claiming the venue could be taken off the tournament schedule due to construction delay

Valcke met with Itaquerao stadium officials on Wednesday and said he was confident the December 2013 deadline would be met, according to the Brazilian media. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of MercoPress.

Kicking Back Comments: Bets, anyone? Anyone? FIFA Guarantees .... funny.

No Wii for U

FIFA 14 not coming to Wii U due to poor FIFA 13 sales

With this morning's revelation that EA does not have any Wii U games in development comes the outright confirmation that FIFA 14 will not be appearing on the system as well.

"Although FIFA 13 on Wii U featured our award-winning HD gameplay and innovative new ways to play, the commercial results were disappointing," an EA representative told Joystiq. "We have decided not to develop FIFA 14 on Wii U. We have a strong partnership with Nintendo and will continue to evaluate opportunities for developing FIFA for Nintendo fans in the future." ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of joystiq.

Kicking Back Comments: I'm not surprised frankly. While I am a fan of the Wii, the Wii U I can do without. I doubt EA is the only one halting development for that platform.

Refereeing Happens Before, During, and After a Match

Take a look at this 2005 clip form Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira.



Even before the match, the referee was right there and rightly involved himself in the discussion to make sure things did not get any further out of hand.

You may wonder too why referees warm up inside the field, and at times chat with players. This is a good reason.

Refereeing is less about "controlling" the match at this level and more about managing the people involved. This clip is an excellent example of the latter.

Soccer violence: Referees under siege

(CNN) -- In the U.S., a referee is punched and later dies. Meanwhile In Europe, a Dutch volunteer linesman is beaten to death, a teenage Spanish referee is violently assaulted, and in Germany a match official is hospitalized.

They are almost as essential to the functioning of the game as the ball they bring onto the pitch for kickoff, but soccer referees across the world are feeling under siege.

Subjected to vulgar insults, threatened, chased off the field, attacked, hospitalized and, tragically, killed.

Read: Referee punched in face by teen player dies

In the most recent incident, 46-year old Ricardo Portillo -- refereeing an amateur game in the Salt Lake City suburb of Taylorsville -- was punched on April 27 after booking a player. He died from his injuries on Saturday. ...

See the whole article here, courtesy of CNN.

Kicking Back Comments: A very worthy read. The author is right on many level in this piece. While I am not a fan of Zero Tolerance as defined in many youth leagues around here, such referee abuse is the largest reason for it to stop it before it even starts.

My earlier question still stands in how far we as referees can go to (physically) stop such an incident before it turns deadly?