WORLD CUP 2010

[EPJr]

...unfortunate but not the first time its happened - two things:

1. FIFA is experimenting with goal officials behind each goal during Champions League play. They are more stoic and conservative than MLB so don't expect changes in the near future.

2. Ireland should have taken care of business at home against Italy and/or France and they would not have been in that position

[bandl]

2. Ireland should have taken care of business at home against Italy and/or France and they would not have been in that position

Oh bullshit. That has nothing to do with the fact that the refs absolutely blew the call. That's just hearsay. If the refs had made a call, then Ireland would have in fact 'taken care of business' and advanced regardless of how they did against Italy or France.

[bandl]

FIA is requesting a replay from FIFA...it's been done before...


http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story ... 10&cc=5901

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) have lodged a formal complaint with FIFA over the controversial World Cup play-off defeat to France and have urged world football's governing body to replay the match.

Les Bleus striker Thierry Henry clearly handled the ball to set up William Gallas' decisive goal as France drew 1-1 at the Stade de France on Wednesday night, winning the two-legged tie 2-1 on aggregate.

"The handball was recognised by the FIFA commissioner, the referee observer and the match officials, as well as by the player himself," the FAI said.

The goal has caused outrage across Europe and the FAI share the view of Irish Justice Minister Dermot Ahern and assistant Republic of Ireland coach Liam Brady who have both called for the game to be replayed.

"The blatantly incorrect decision by the referee to award the goal has damaged the integrity of the sport and we now call on FIFA, as the world governing body for our sport, to organise for this match to be replayed," the FAI said.

FIFA ordered Uzbekistan to replay Bahrain in a play-off for the 2006 World Cup in Germany after the referee made a mistake when a penalty had been awarded.

[bandl]

Ireland got SCREWED. They should have advanced, not France.

"Henry admits handball for winning goal"

Got to watch part of it while I was getting my haircut yesterday. Can't blame Henry for trying though, refs should have picked up on that. Poorly officiated game on the whole, Irish shouldn't blame France for cheating, Irish should blame the Refs for not seeing what was a blatant hand ball. I heard someone down here say "They must have used refs from the SEC to call that game."

BTW, I should have said 'the goal should not have counted so that in all likelyhood it would have gone to a shootout' instead of saying 'They should have advanced'

[JMU DJ]

Got to watch part of it while I was getting my haircut yesterday. Can't blame Henry for trying though, refs should have picked up on that. Poorly officiated game on the whole, Irish shouldn't blame France for cheating, Irish should blame the Refs for not seeing what was a blatant hand ball. I heard someone down here say "They must have used refs from the SEC to call that game."

BTW, I should have said 'the goal should not have counted so that in all likelyhood it would have gone to a shootout' instead of saying 'They should have advanced'

Yeah, I knew what you were getting at. It was more a nod of approval for Ireland getting screwed and then Henry admitting it was a handball.


The Dutch and German guys I work with aren't to happy about it, nor that Portugal advanced... but, they are happy Russia got the boot

[bandl]

I think there should be a rule that states if you can't advance to the World Cup without being the first in your group or without the aid of a playoff, you should not be given a seed. i.e. Argentina, who just barely backed into the WC, and France, who needed the playoff against Ireland to advance. Sort of like the BCS...if you can't win your conference, then you can't play in the NC game.

And Netherlands got screwed with the projected seedings...first team to qualify in Europe, yet they probably won't get a seed. France was one of the last teams to qualify from Europe, yet they will probably get a seed.

And yes, I understand how the seedings/rankings work, and it is a joke (just look at the U.S. ranking for verification )

I hate France.

[Grizalltheway]

Fuck france. Germany will destroy their bitch asses if they end up playing.

[bandl]

Fuck france. Germany will destroy their bitch asses if they end up playing.

As will Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Brazil, England, Portugal & Cameroon.

[EPJr]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,575 ... latestnews

[slycat]

I say replay the game. Can't believe they missed the call.

[bandl]

I say replay the game. Can't believe they missed the call.

Or at least replay the overtime...and if it results in a shootout then so be it!

Won't happen though.

[DukeJack]

So Henry wants a replay, FIFA says no:

"Naturally I feel embarrassed at the way that we won and feel extremely sorry for the Irish who definitely deserve to be in South Africa. Of course the fairest solution would be to replay the game but it is not in my control....I have never denied that the ball was controlled with my hand. I told the Irish players, the referee and the media this after the game.''

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story ... 10&cc=5901

FIFA has today, 20 November 2009, replied to the request made by the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) to replay the 2010 FIFA World Cup play-off match held on 18 November 2009 between France and the Republic of Ireland in Paris.

"In the reply, FIFA states that the result of the match cannot be changed and the match cannot be replayed. As is clearly mentioned in the Laws of the Game, during matches, decisions are taken by the referee and these decisions are final.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story ... 10&cc=5901

And FIFA says its shit don't stink...

[Grizalltheway]

Fuck FIFA. If the situation were reversed, and they were going to lose all the revenue from French fans not going to South Africa, they'd replay it in a heartbeat.

[DukeJack]

So apparently Ireland has asked FIFA, who already said no to a replay, to add them as a 33rd team in the World Cup. Good luck with that

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 01004.html

[bandl]

Final Pots were just announced:

Pot one: South Africa, Brazil, Spain, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Argentina, England

Pot two: Australia, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Honduras, Mexico, U.S., New Zealand

Pot three: Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Algeria

Pot four: Denmark, France, Greece, Serbia, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Switzerland

France and Portugal were not given seeds (Pot one), and rightfully so considered they both struggled to get into the WC. I'm not sure that Argentina deserves a seed either.

[BlueHen86]

So apparently Ireland has asked FIFA, who already said no to a replay, to add them as a 33rd team in the World Cup. Good luck with that

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 01004.html

Apparently Ireland never formally made the request to be added. FIFA told them the request would be denied if it were made.

FIFA is also considering to use of goal judges, but does not want to use instant replay.

[BlueHen86]

Final Pots were just announced:

Pot one: South Africa, Brazil, Spain, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Argentina, England

Pot two: Australia, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Honduras, Mexico, U.S., New Zealand

Pot three: Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Algeria

Pot four: Denmark, France, Greece, Serbia, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Switzerland

France and Portugal were not given seeds (Pot one), and rightfully so considered they both struggled to get into the WC. I'm not sure that Argentina deserves a seed either.

Pot 1: The US will be an underdog against whichever of the Pot 1 team it faces except maybe South Africa. Even so, South Africa will be tough since they are the host.

Pot 2: Might be the waekest pot, but the US can't play any of those teams in the first round.

Pot 3: I hope the US draws one of the African teams.

Pot 4: Also looks strong, the US will most likely have to beat whichever pot 4 teams it faces in order to advance.

[EPJr]

France not seeded at World Cup draw

FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke said France was a victim of its lackluster qualifying campaign since the seedings were based on the October rankings. Previously, past results in World Cups also had an impact.

In France, former national team coach Michel Hidalgo raised questions.
"I am asking myself if this is not a sanction for the hand ball of Henry," he told RTL radio. "It is an injustice. It looks like France is being sanctioned."

http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/10461942

[DukeJack]

Because the only teams from the same confederation who can play each other are the seeded European teams and those in Pot 4, South Africa will draw a South American team from Pot 3 and Brazil and Argentina will each get an African team.

The easiest group for the US: South Africa, Uruguay, and Switzerland
The hardest group for the US: Brazil/Spain, Ivory Coast, and Portugal/France

[JMU DJ]

Punish Henry? Punish your stupid refs for not calling the penalty!

Fifa will decide on Wednesday how to punish Thierry Henry over his controversial handball against the Republic of Ireland as part of a wide-ranging disciplinary crackdown that could include the introduction of five match officials at next year's World Cup.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009 ... r-handball



... They've already said they won't be adding extra Refs, but we'll see how this unfolds for Henry.

[bandl]

Punish Henry? Punish your stupid refs for not calling the penalty!

Fifa will decide on Wednesday how to punish Thierry Henry over his controversial handball against the Republic of Ireland as part of a wide-ranging disciplinary crackdown that could include the introduction of five match officials at next year's World Cup.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009 ... r-handball



... They've already said they won't be adding extra Refs, but we'll see how this unfolds for Henry.

Whatever it takes to keep France in the WC....whatever it takes...

[EPJr]

Punish Henry? Punish your stupid refs for not calling the penalty!

Fifa will decide on Wednesday how to punish Thierry Henry over his controversial handball against the Republic of Ireland as part of a wide-ranging disciplinary crackdown that could include the introduction of five match officials at next year's World Cup.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009 ... r-handball



... They've already said they won't be adding extra Refs, but we'll see how this unfolds for Henry.

Oh he will NOT be in RSA

[BlueHen86]

What exactly has FIFA done to prevent another occurance similiar to Ireland-France? No replay and no extra refs, sounds like business as usual.

Countries go through years of qualifying, only to risk being screwed by shoddy officiating. The sad thing, FIFA could fix the officiating issue but doesn't have the balls to do so. I'm tired of the old cop out 'we don't want replay, we need to keep the human element in the game'. The human element is in the game, it's with the two teams competing. FIFA needs to fix a correctable problem.

[Grizalltheway]

What exactly has FIFA done to prevent another occurance similiar to Ireland-France? No replay and no extra refs, sounds like business as usual.

Countries go through years of qualifying, only to risk being screwed by shoddy officiating. The sad thing, FIFA could fix the officiating issue but doesn't have the balls to do so. I'm tired of the old cop out 'we don't want replay, we need to keep the human element in the game'. The human element is in the game, it's with the two teams competing. FIFA needs to fix a correctable problem.

[EPJr]

if you wanna play with the possibilities before Friday

http://www.record.com.mx/sorteoMundial/ ... undial.php