The World Cup Players Deserve Some of the Blame
A lot has already been written about the poor quality of the officiating this World Cup, but are the referees the only parties at fault? For every reaction from the referees there is usually an action by a player to cause it. Dives, flops, unsportsmanlike play . . . these aren’t caused by referees, they are the action of players.
There are some out there who argue that the game is being played the same way that it has always been. There have always been players that have stretched the rules to achieve a competitive advantage. The difference this time is that the referees have been instructed to call the games more closely.
Perhaps that is somewhat true. I remember plenty of incidents in World Cups gone by where players were able to dupe the referees and they were rewarded for their less than honorable actions.
But this year it appears to me that the number of players that are resorting to such tactics is greater than ever before. It has become ingrained in the game, and at times it seems like this is part of the strategy to win.
I’m not entirely sure what can be done to fix the problem but something needs to happen. Clearly putting the onus on the referee to call every single infraction has not worked. The referees have and always will lack consistency in their calls. At the same time, going back to a day when the players were allowed to kill each other is also not the solution. No one wants to see the best players taken out by malicious tackles and for teams to be rewarded for thuggish play.
In the end, the answer might need to come from the players themselves who can help to clean up the sport by cleaning up their play. Unfortunately, in a competition where so much is at stake and any advantage that can help a team win is sought, a return to good sportsmanship and clean play does not seem very likely.
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Displaying the most recent 25 comments from a total of 44 comments.
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By Pete Best's love child | June 28th, 2006 at 8:12 pm 
Video replays during a game can’t be used.
simply becasue the only relation to stopping play in Football is on an injury (or in 90% of the time a dive followed by a flop) and even then it is maybe 30 seconds to a minute. Now is that long enough for review pitchside? Think of it this way: in the NFL, which a majority of the Americans here relate to, a video review tales anywhere from two to five minutes to get a good, clear result.
You really gonna give each team two to five minutes twice a game to stop the play to review a call? Thats eight to twenty minutes cumulatively stoppage time. Eight to twenty minutes to rest your team. You dont have to be a rocket scientist to understand the advantages of exploiting that much rest in the middle of a game…
By DJ | June 28th, 2006 at 8:27 pm I had been considering the same recourse as was mentioned above: post-game video replay assessment and punishment as a result. Based on the severity of the foul/dive, the player could be fined and/or suspended. In the case of particularly poor sportsmanship, the team itself could be fined. I think that would be a great deterrent.
Posted from 
United States
By Colin | June 28th, 2006 at 9:05 pm This is a very interesting topic considering in both Australia/Italy and Spain/France games a decisive goal came after a dive or play act. All this could be stopped within weeks of a new season if FIFA officials would use their stupid headsets and have spotters (with access to video replay) relay any obvious fakery to the referee. How many times do we have to see an errand touch of a hand to chest blossom into a knockout punch to the face; or a defender laying prone on the ground actually ducking to avoid contact as the opponent runs over him and then stretches a leg out to land as horizontal as possible to draw the foul! Slow action video repeatedly shows minor contact to a left thigh become a crippling blow to the right ankle. An what’s the biggest give away to an embellished dive? Count how many time the fouled player rolls over! Anyone receiving a serious injury usually drops like a rock and remains motionless in an attempt to limit excruciating pain; yes, hard knocks to the legs, body and head will result in writhing about, but not to the extent that some players roll a good 3-5 times as if going down hill! Video evidence of fakery should be awarded with a red card for unsportmanship; you would see a change in the game within a matter of weeks, and maybe a differnt reuslut in a few games where skill results in victory not acting!
Posted from 
Canada
By Kyle | June 28th, 2006 at 9:09 pm I agree with reviewing video post-match. If players knew that their dive would be captured on video and reviewed, and that they could face a suspension in the next game for it, they would be much less likely to do it. I really don’t see how this would be much different from reviewing plays that resulted in players being sent off to determine suspensions. If they can go to the video to give De Rossi 3 additional games, why can’t they use the video to give Figo a game suspension?
I don’t like the idea of instant replay during the match.
Posted from United States
By OilerFan | June 28th, 2006 at 9:33 pm I agree that diving is a problem, but i dont want to see live video replay introduced into the sport the way it has been in NA sports. It completely takes away from enjoying the games and would take away from the free-flowing nature of the sport. I think punishment after the game is a better solution for the fans and players alike. I think something like a 3 or 6 ban on each player found to be diving in the WC would be a huge detterent considering most of these players have football careers in their own leagues that would suffer from a serious suspension like this.
Posted from Canada
By stef | June 28th, 2006 at 10:35 pm Very interesting ideas indeed.
However, Alan got it right: this is BUSINESS. Not only for the players, but for the managers! They make huge money -don’t ask for names, if you don’t know about Blatter, Johansson etc.., you shouldn’t be reading this- and will continue making more money as long as there IS the SLIGHTEST possibility to be helpful to some countries (teams) (that is sponsors etc.). The moment the video will be introduced – in any way (directly or after the game)- the human error will disappear, thus the possibility to control games…
That said, I DO believe in instant replay and after match video as well. For those concerned about the drop-down of the rhythm: ask ice-hockey fans to tell you their opinion about our “fast” football… Anyway, if you know you’ll be punished, you’ll automatically stop any bulls@€t!
Colin is right: if you have ever watched an American Wrestling (the show I mean) match and a real fight in K1 or Boxing or any martial art YOU DO KNOW how it looks when it hurts. Our millionaires players start to be like the good ol’ Hulk Hogan…
Marcos’ idea for 4 assistants on the lines is very good too!
Posted from 
Finland
By Paul Duckham | June 28th, 2006 at 10:43 pm It is time to use technology to help guarantee a fairer result on the field. I would do the following:
1. Time clock maintained by 4th official or designated timekeeper – it would show time remaining. Clock would stop when the ball is dead, or when the ref requests time be added back.
2. All goals, yellow & red cards, and penalties to be reviewed on sideline (video) with ref & 4th official. Ref makes final decision.
3. Each team may challenge one decision per half – video review.
Posted from United States
By dietmar | June 28th, 2006 at 10:52 pm there has to be that “flow” of the game. video stoppage within the ninety minutes can not be an option.lets admit it, we ALL would like to be the one in the room to make the right call, and we can as we do have replays routinely shown! but to make a referee second guess hisself will certainly detract from the overall experience of the event. not to mention really ticking of the spectators…and well that is something i dont want to see. i would like the refs to do as they were instructed before the WC; pass out the card for the dive. i wonder if the guys who invented this game really had ‘video replay’ in mind when they thought of the rules. sounds like a silly point, but you just got to believe they werent diving back then, because he would have received a card. as i remember playing, part of the beauty of it all was, if you get hacked or fouled, try to keep your balance and go for the beautiful play! because honestly thats something ive always loved about the sport! even if they hack you all night, pick yourself up out of the mud and the fans will love you for it! where some of these players picked up their passion of the game(the actors) i couldnt answer, but when you play the game right, they give you little stars to put on your jacket- a.k.a. WORLD CHAMPIONS-THE BEST OF THE BEST.
Posted from United States
By Jac | June 28th, 2006 at 11:04 pm why video replay not allowed? because bookies can;t control the game. now if you pay good amount of money, ref can control the game… ita-aus match. ref won the game. mex-arg match ref won the game. hol-por match ref won the game…..
you should have a limited reply challenge for WC or bookies are going to win the game…. poor good players waste their whole life for losing in their excellent match….
Posted from United States
By John from Canada | June 28th, 2006 at 11:07 pm It’s not the refs. It’s not the players. It’s the RULES that deserve most of the blame. Which means FIFA. Which means Sepp Blatter and co.
Players are just doing what the rules motivate and reward them to do. Refs are just saddled with the disadvantages the rules hand them.
DO A BLOG QUESTION ON THE RULES FOR GOODNESS SAKE.
Posted from United States
By Claude | June 28th, 2006 at 11:29 pm I think a lot of you are missing an important point about after game review. The damage has been done and I think players would say suspend me for 4 games if it means that their action causes their team to advance or win the cup. Take a player like Zidane. What can FIFA do to him since he is retiring once the world cup for France is over – win or lose? Fine him a million Euros? I am sure that France would pay the fine for him. Please don’t get me wrong and interpret that to mean that Zidane or France are cheaters. I am just using Zidane as an example. I think that there are only four choices that FIFA has. First they can do nothing and in 4 years we will have the same discussions again just like we did in 2002. Second, FIFA can suspend the player and require a replay of the game if it is determined that the action caused the other team to lose. Third, FIFA can bring video review into the game as it is being played to overrule the ref. Lastly, FIFA can go with more officials on the pitch like one ref. for each half of the field and 2 lines men for each half of the field. I think if it comes to the final then the game should be replayed a few days later and the cheating player(s) suspended and fined. FIFA could also require that the monetary fines be paid by the player and if the national organization committe is caught reimbursing the player that they are automatically suspended from the next world cup. You could even go so far as to say for example that Australia advances and Italy is eliminated if FIFA determines that it was a dive and therefore the Aussies were cheated.
Posted from United States
By math | June 28th, 2006 at 11:46 pm The problem with dives is neither the players, nor the officials. It’s the _rules_. The punishment for infractions is too high, or conversly, the reward for getting a call is too high.
Make the punishments for regular infractions less severe (e.g. fewer penalty kicks, or move the kicks back further, or get rid of free kicks) and suddenly there’ll be no incentive to dive.
Posted from United States
By LOKi01 | June 29th, 2006 at 12:07 am Just get two refs controlling each half of the pitch
most refs are over 40, how the hell can they keep up with the pace and concentrate for 90 mins.
They are making crucial calls when they are 30 yards away.
Posted from 
Australia
By Big-Baller-Shot-Caller | June 29th, 2006 at 1:05 am Another problem is the fans which are blind to the fact their teams are full of divers. Fans applaud them if they win diving and the media proclaims them great “grandes” if they win in any shape or form.
My top ten unnoficial diving teams:
1.Italy
2.Portugal
3.Netherlands
4.Argentina
5.Ukraine
6.Brazil
7.South Korea
8.Angola
9.England
10.Croatia
Posted from United States
By greg | June 29th, 2006 at 1:30 am Quit whinning!! that’s why soccer is the world’s number one sport. That’s the reason why the World cup is the most anticipated and most watched sporting event on earth. That’s why its idolized all over the world. Die hard soccer fans love soccer because of the little flaws, those are the intangibles of the game . The fact that a simple mistake, a questionnable offside, a missed handball(remember Maradonna and the hand of God?), a questionnable penalty etc and the fact that it takes a minimum of four years or that you may never get a chance to redeem yourself, that’s the stuff that creates eternal rivalries. Ask the English or the Italians or Argentina or Mexico, they know how it feels, they have been on both sides of the isle. Soccer is a unique sport that requires zero technology. Its the great equalizer because all it takes is a heart beat, two legs and your eye sight and any human on earth has a chance to make the team. I am a big NFL and even bigger NBA fan having watch every NBA final and for the last decade and the last 9 or so superbowls. I live in America, I love technology(I am a US trained engineer), I am proud of my American citizenship but even I dont want to see any changes to the traditional rules of soccer.Please dont mess up our dear soccer with all these rule changes and all that technology stuff simply because you can not take a loss like a man and wait for your chance(if you ever get one) in four years. Suck it up! Next thing you know, people want flags for coaches so that they can challenge plays or they want replays for the refs. That’s all B.S. If you want all that stick to the NBA, baseball, ice hockey, the NFL etc or some other ‘intelligent’ sport. Leave soccer the way it is. Only thing I would recommend is that all those world cup refs should consider applying for jobs in the NBA or in the NFL. Even Mark Cuban agrees there’s a problem with the world cup referee. Here are some more suggestions:
Portugal and the Holland team players should audition for the WWF if they dont make the cut in the NFL.The Russian ref would make a great baseball umpire .In his soon to be released autobiography, he cites the NBA finals and in particular Dick Bevetta and steve Jarvey as his role models. The US soccer team should consider hiring Mark Cuban as their video expert and spokesman (especially on matters relating to officiating). Maybe they had a Pep talk from Dirk Norwizki and Avery Johnson just before tip off,( how do you inspire guts? Dr. Phil? anybody please help our dear soccer team)
Posted from United States
By greg | June 29th, 2006 at 2:25 am I forgot to mention, both Portugal and Holland would like to thank the Detroit Pistons ‘Bad Boys’ for those inspiring words just before the game.And louis Figo wants to personally thank Dennis Rodman for being a great role model. Even Rasheed Wallace agrees that Figo should have been ejected (even he wants to know what it takes to get a ‘double T’ in this world cup!!).
Guys please excuse all the typos, all errors and ommissions are courtesy of my tired fingers. (Steve Jarvis not Jarvey and referees not referee). I could really use spell check before going on stage infront of all you ‘die hard’ soccer intelligent fans.Spell check, why do you desert thee at the hour of greatest need?
Posted from United States
By so what | June 29th, 2006 at 2:58 am Adding more linesmen is fine and
should be introduced.
2 refs running on the field?
Don’t think so. More often than
not, part of the field gets very
crowded and congested and even
with 1 ref. There have been
instances where ref is physically
in the way of passing and
accidentally blocked or deflected
an otherwise perfect set up.
Also instances where players
have to take extra effort to
dribble around the ref when
the team is in an attacking
motion.
Adding 2 refs only means more
unncessary traffics and
crowdedness and will kill off
the flow of the game.
If FIFA intends on tighten the
rule, think about sending off
a cheating player and penalise
the team for the next match
playing with 1 player less as
well, now that’s going to have
a HUGE impact on not just the
current match but the next and
that will teach them a lesson
for cheating.
Posted from Australia
By lisa | June 29th, 2006 at 7:36 am two quick points:
- replays wouldn’t neccessarily delay a game. the fourth official could watch a replay quickly and confirm or deny a call via headset to the ref. they loll about for longer than that before restarting now.
- the xfm satellite radio guy mentioned post-match financial sanctions. kind of a neat idea. hitting a player and/or a team once or twice with a huge fine may change the game more than anything else.
Posted from United States
By victor of okc | June 29th, 2006 at 2:59 pm Perhaps various changes to keep the game moving and respectable are needed,maybe the fourth referee with instant replay and communication with the center referee can make quicker judgment and force players to quit faking dives with cards and sitting time to play on their feet a little more. As you can see it would not delay the game anymore right now than those guys that roll on the ground for half an hour from a phantom elbow or kick.Making a player sit the sideline for the amount of time spent on the ground or on the pitch will force teams to get him off and up and punish those that cause them a match or two for feinting.This will also relieve some of the pressure off of the central referee in big matches.We all love to see the great matches and hate to see one lost on the dives but pretty soon all teams will force their players into acting school as a part of playing, maybe thats why we have the movie with beckhams name on it,after a players career is over acting is the next step.
Posted from United States
By JW | June 29th, 2006 at 8:00 pm There needs to be a rule change along the lines of this: if you’re on the ground for more than an arbitrary time (30 sec. ?), you sit out some time (say 15 min.) and your team is a man down for that time. If you require a trainer on the field, or medical staff, you’re out 20 min. before you can come back. There would need to be some leeway to allow shoe-tying, of course. But if you’re hurt badly enough to roll around on the ground for a minute, you need to go sit down. And if you’re not hurt badly, you won’t hit the turf because of the consequence to your team
Posted from United States
By Colin | June 29th, 2006 at 9:35 pm I think lisa and victor of okc make good points. Keep the game as original as possible; the referees will always make some basic errors along the way, but have a fourth (fifth?) video offical to confirm blatant dives and fake injuries. If it happened fast enough, the referee could them card the faker and cancel the free kick. I don’t think this would adversly impact the flow of the game as it takes quite some time for teams to prepare their set pieces, and faking/diving is done in an attemp to gain advantage by gaining possession, a free kick or having an opponent carded (which can influence his play for the remainder of the game). Suspension for faker for the next game or round might make him think twice. All this has resulted from a worldwide deterioration sportmanship and ediquate! It may have more to do with millionaire prima donna players whose bloated heads give them a sense of entitlement that everything should go in their favour, and the big money stakes in advertising and sponsorship that has changed attitudes. Some of the antics witnessed have been disgraceful but if fan/coach/sponsor loyalty is unwavering, there is no incentive to change!
Posted from Canada
By Germando | July 5th, 2006 at 9:48 pm What are the eligibility requirements to become an active player on a world cup soccer team. Appears as if some of the European teams have players that do not have traditional European physical characteristics.
By vicky | July 7th, 2006 at 3:38 am A team should be allowed to challenge at least the penalty kick ,doubtful goals and red cards. For these three cases, video replays should be allowed. These situations donot arise often in a game and will consume only a fraction of injury time.
After each game, red cards or more serious punishments should be awarded for diving.
Posted from United States
By vicky | July 7th, 2006 at 3:42 am Also a diver should not be considered for any award … for example C. Ronaldo
Posted from United States
By Mark | July 10th, 2006 at 7:56 pm The beauty of the game is the free-flow and non-stop action. Therefore, I propose a replay official who the referee would query only in these dead ball situations:
1) Card-worthy plays when the whistle has been blown; the replay official would tell the referee whether it was a dive or a real foul. The referee would then card the appropriate player.
2) Any defensive foul in the box; foul would be verified before penalty kick awarded.
In each of these situations, the ball is dead, referee is usually consulting with his assistants. The scene usually consists of both teams making their case with the ref. Consultation with a replay official would only take an additional 30 seconds or so per incident…not the ridiculous scene that we regularly see on NFL telecasts.
The best part of this plan would be the deterrent effect this would have on the various world-class fakers we have just witnessed…a player would be much less likely to dive if he knew that it wasn’t likely to work, and he may even get a card for his trouble.
Replay could also be used to determine goal or no goal on goal-line situations. I’m less convinced that this would be a good change, as it may in fact interrupt the flow of play…the ref may need to stop the game after one of these plays to check with the replay guy. And, it seems these calls are less frequent, and more likely to be called correctly, perhaps due to assistant referee positioning along the goal line.
Posted from United States
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