http://www.worldcupblog.org/more/ World Cup South Africa 2010 en-us World Cup Blog http://referees.worldcupblog.org/funny-occurrences/the-ballet-referee.html http://referees.worldcupblog.org/funny-occurrences/the-ballet-referee.html Connor Fabiano Tue, 17 Apr 2007 22:21:08 -0500 Being a referee can be a hard job. No matter how skilled, no matter how dedicated, and no matter how fair you may be, the majority of football fans are still going to hate you. Having said that, it's vitally important to find humor admist such stressful circumstances. This man does that... I'm sure some of you have already seen this, but for those who haven't, I think it's quite a treat to watch. On a final note, I'm Connor and I'll be writing for the Referee section in addition to the USA Blog. http://referees.worldcupblog.org/news/justice-is-served.html http://referees.worldcupblog.org/news/justice-is-served.html Aaron Fri, 21 Jul 2006 01:55:54 -0500 Last night I was refereeing a high-level U16 Boys club match in Saratoga Springs, NY. The home team went on to win by a score of 5 - 1, but that's not important. http://referees.worldcupblog.org/news/the-beautiful-gamean-epilogue-to-germany-2006.html http://referees.worldcupblog.org/news/the-beautiful-gamean-epilogue-to-germany-2006.html Aaron Thu, 13 Jul 2006 03:51:33 -0500 One of the many people who appreciated my unbiased perspective on this year's World Cup matches recently emailed me to ask if I thought that Germany 2006 could be deemed a success. I've had a few days to think about things and I must say, my opinion is pretty mixed. http://referees.worldcupblog.org/news/zidane-got-what-he-deserved-as-italy-persevere-to-lift-cup-in-berlin.html http://referees.worldcupblog.org/news/zidane-got-what-he-deserved-as-italy-persevere-to-lift-cup-in-berlin.html Aaron Mon, 10 Jul 2006 21:18:53 -0500 Clearly, it wasn't supposed to end this way. Sure it would've been a fairy tale ending to an illustrious career if Zizou could've carried Les Bleus to victory, but who could've predicted a scenario as ugly and shameful as this. Sent off in the 110th minute of the match for an outrageously stupid headbutt to the chest of Italian defender Marco Materazzi, Zinedine Zidane wasn't even on the pitch with his team to collect his runner-up medal after the Italians claimed football's ultimate prize. http://referees.worldcupblog.org/news/elizondo-chosen-for-final.html http://referees.worldcupblog.org/news/elizondo-chosen-for-final.html Aaron Fri, 07 Jul 2006 21:53:36 -0500 FIFA has made their choice for the Final in Berlin. Argentina's Horacio Elizondo will be the man to ensure fair play when Italy and France kick off at 9pm at the Olympiastadion on Sunday. It's a decision that I support as Elizondo and his crew have proven to be top-notch throughout the tournament. http://referees.worldcupblog.org/news/they%e2%80%99ll-be-singin%e2%80%99-the-blues-in-berlin.html http://referees.worldcupblog.org/news/they%e2%80%99ll-be-singin%e2%80%99-the-blues-in-berlin.html Aaron Thu, 06 Jul 2006 06:57:38 -0500 Ten of the starting twenty-two players in tonight’s France-Portugal semifinal in Munich were sitting on a yellow card prior to the match. With Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda in the middle, I was wondering how many of them would be facing suspension by the time the match was over. Judging by Larrionda’s previous performances as well as that of the teams, it seemed likely that several starters might be forced to become spectators for their next match – the championship or third-place game depending on the outcome. http://referees.worldcupblog.org/news/lightning-strikes-twice-for-italy-in-overtime-as-archundia-sets-record-in-dortmund.html http://referees.worldcupblog.org/news/lightning-strikes-twice-for-italy-in-overtime-as-archundia-sets-record-in-dortmund.html Aaron Wed, 05 Jul 2006 17:09:09 -0500 I spent the day walking around the center of Berlin – along the River Spree and down to the Brandenburg Gate. Seeing all the people milling about, it was hard to imagine that less than two decades earlier I would’ve been standing alongside the Wall – on the east side. I took a few minutes to look at a memorial near the entrance to Fan Fest where a makeshift memorial had been erected along a fence to remember some of the people who had died trying to escape the repressive Communist regime that once ruled these parts. For Gen-Xers like myself, a divided Germany was what we knew throughout our formative years and beyond. Thankfully, those days are behind us now and the world slowly evolves. Hopefully we can continue to adapt to a changing planet and lift each other up in the process. http://referees.worldcupblog.org/news/belgian-study-supports-my-belief-that-it%e2%80%99s-time-to-change-the-offside-rule.html http://referees.worldcupblog.org/news/belgian-study-supports-my-belief-that-it%e2%80%99s-time-to-change-the-offside-rule.html Aaron Tue, 04 Jul 2006 00:07:34 -0500 Well, if you’ve been reading my reports about the referees’ performances at the matches at this year’s World Cup, you’ve probably heard me say more than once that it’s time to get rid of offside altogether, or at the very least, amend it drastically in order to reduce the frequency of controversial and/or wrong decisions by the Assistant Referees. In addition, I’m of the belief that doing this will also create more scoring opportunities and thus, result in more goals being scored every match. Now, a study by a Belgian researcher pretty much sums up what I’ve been saying all along – that referees frequently make mistakes in offside decisions and that invariably these mistakes go against the offense. Take a look and see for yourself… http://referees.worldcupblog.org/news/france-shocks-the-world%e2%80%a6again.html http://referees.worldcupblog.org/news/france-shocks-the-world%e2%80%a6again.html Aaron Mon, 03 Jul 2006 14:20:19 -0500 That morning at breakfast I offered up a wager to Sean – one of the guys who runs this website. “Give me 3 to 1 odds and I’ll take France.” He took me up on the offer, but like an idiot, I backed down. Eight years earlier I was in Vegas for the final between these same two teams and placed a wager on France that I’ll never forget. I figured, ‘these guys are playing in Paris and they’re a 2.2 to 1 underdog…how can that be?’. So I put ten bucks down at the Golden Nugget’s sports book; and figuring that if they were gonna win, they’d probably do it by taking a lead in the first half, so I put another ten bucks down that France would have the lead at halftime and go on to win the match. The odds for that second wager were 7 to 1. Sure I didn’t get rich that day, but I did make over ninety bucks. Not bad. So why was I incapable of thinking that history could repeat itself in this quarterfinal match? Brazil hadn’t looked terribly impressive so far, despite recently beating Ghana 3 – nil. And France, despite having a mediocre first round, looked fantastic in their 3 – 1 victory over a solid Spanish side. http://referees.worldcupblog.org/news/rooney-sees-red-as-england-are-ineffective-in-penalties.html http://referees.worldcupblog.org/news/rooney-sees-red-as-england-are-ineffective-in-penalties.html Aaron Mon, 03 Jul 2006 00:41:27 -0500 Sean and Chris (the two guys who run this website), Mika (their friend from Portland), and I headed out to grab a late breakfast at the Hackescher Markt on the morning before the two remaining quarterfinal matches. We grabbed one of the many outdoor tables set up on the cobblestones in the plaza there. Sean seems to know all the girls who work there, having now spent more than a month living just a few blocks from this popular gathering place with its abundance of eateries. Most of the waitresses seem to have boyfriends, but Sean was able to identify one young beauty – Ulli – who does not. She says she has five different jobs, though, and her English wasn’t the best. But Sean was undeterred, hopeful that our server Vicky, whose boyfriend works back in the kitchen, would be a willing accomplice in his efforts to connect with Ulli. At one point he joked to Vicky that Ulli was going to be his girlfriend. “But, does she even know your name?”, she replied with a laugh. http://referees.worldcupblog.org/news/no-controversy-as-italy-crushes-ukriane.html http://referees.worldcupblog.org/news/no-controversy-as-italy-crushes-ukriane.html Aaron Sun, 02 Jul 2006 16:07:47 -0500 After the game was over at the Olympiastadion I stuck around for about fifteen minutes watching the celebrations. The German team went together to each corner of the pitch to thank their fans. And the Argentine team came out for a quick salute to their supporters as well. But they quickly departed, knowing that this was not their day.