For the Integrity of Soccer

This is a goal? Read Ed's take on it...

The arrow indicates the location of the ball.  Yellow - Watford (defenders); blue/white - Reading (attackers). 

The dangers of youth and inexperience . . . by Ed Bellion

Since FIFA reduced the maximum age for FIFA referees from 50 to 45 a few years ago, most countries (including the U.S.) have been actively recruiting young officials and setting them on accelerated tracks to the top-level games.  That’s all well and good, but it can put young officials into situations they can’t handle.  Take this one, for example, which most of our readers will have heard about, where a 25-year old referee made a bizarre decision in a professional match . . .

Keep the red card flying here . . .

    Neither newspapers nor pundits missed the opportunity to comment on a recent incident from the Manchester City/Chelsea game in the Premiership, when John Terry, the England captain, was sent off by Mark Halsey for serious foul play in the 66th minute.  To put it simply, Terry was going to chase (and probably never catch) Jo of City just inside the Chelsea half.  Rather than do that, the Chelsea center-back reached out and with his right arm pulled his opponent down in a tackle that would have done many a rugby player proud, and was certainly better and more effective than a lot of so-called tackles in the NFL.
    There was a bit of a fuss at the time, because the players knew that the expulsion meant that Terry would be suspended for the next game, against Manchester United no less.  Understandably enough, Chelsea appealed——against any suspension——to the F.A., on the basis of wrongful dismissal, and then all the pundits, all the commentators that I could find scribbled their opinions on the basis of wrongful information. It was quite a comedy of errors…

Predictability in soccer.

    One of the ideas I have been trying to impress upon referees in northern California is that soccer——especially professional soccer——can have predictable elements to it.  In one presentation and discussion, I used the example of the terrible foul committed on Arsenal’s daSilva a few months ago, when his leg was broken by ever-such-a-nice-lad (a “gentle giant”, even!) in the third or fourth minute of the game.  The referee, quite rightly, sent the opponent Taylor off, and I encouraged our referees to be just as tough on any foul challenge of that severity.  But not everyone in the game agreed . . .

    Last week we saw another example of predictability, this one involving a young international star (19 years of age) playing in a Champions’ League match.  Days before, Theo Walcott had scored three goals for England against Croatia in  a World Cup qualifier, and you can guess what’s coming, or at least I hope so . . .

Assessing the problem (continued)...

If you read the satirical post I wrote about FIFA's supposed instructions to match inspectors who are preparing referees for the next World Cup, you might get the impression that I have little regard for assessors generally.  If that is so, I want to disavow you of that notion, and today I am going to clarify a few things (without irony)...