World Cup Officiating

I've been asked to post some more soccer journals after US games, it seems several of you enjoyed reading them, which is good because I enjoy writing them. Obviously, I'm very excited about our result and our upcoming appearance in the round of 16. What makes me even more excited is that by my estimation, Donovan's late goal may be a huge catalyst for the popularity of soccer in the USA and the production of top footballers and world-class international squads. That is something I went into in my last journal and will revisit in the next. For now, I'd like to discuss the questionable-at-best offside that almost denied USA of a deserved berth. While the call in and of itself is upsetting, the trend of terrible calls against the USA that deny us of much-needed goals is downright disturbing.

International sport, and especially the World Cup, has a unique way of unifying the world under something everybody can understand: competition and teamwork. Soccer becomes a universal language for billions, the matches a dialogue between entire nations. It's a free trade of culture, where the poor and meek share 90 minutes with the rich and powerful, and there is an almost supernatural sense of understanding between everybody watching. This harmony is supported by an excellent governing body in FIFA, which I don't think could do a much better job. The booking rules they've put in place for the World Cup encourage friendly play which I think we can all agree is a great idea. However, after almost having two consecutive wins taken away, average Americans can't help but feel like the world is against us. While people are most certainly entitled to their opinion of America, our players and their supporters shouldn't be treated as representatives of our politics. Politics have no place in international sport, nor does one's opinion of a particular nation. It's quite obvious to me, especially from the Slovenia game, that not only do some referees fail to leave their beefs at the door, but some of them may even come in with the intention of helping one side. Of course, that's something completely up to interpretation.

While I'll stop short of suggesting reforms to officiating, I wish there was a review process for referees after a match where a questionable call directly resulting in a score being added or taken away. At the very least, I think an apology from the referee would be in order for some of the more blatant missed calls.

I don't know how to end this and I gotta watch the rest of the Germany vs Ghana match. Discuss and I'll comment.