Official 2014 Brazil World Cup thread

[J79]

Originally Posted by Pagal4321

I would predict the same outcomes. Since I actually own a Spain jersey, guess I should wear it tomorrow just to piss off the Dutch fans.

That pisses almost nobody off overhere, so I doubt it will piss off people in a friendly city like Calgary.

[Trumbull]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

yup cause penalty kicks in soccer are too important.
The refs become increasingly important in low-scoring sports.

Or simply sports with too many rules and too much discretionary authority in the hands of refs/officials.

[Tailgator]

Originally Posted by KootenayFlamesFan

http://www.tsn.ca/soccer/story/?id=454677

I think that ref was picked for his ability to draw lines on the field, other than that, he was pretty awful.

[Mango]

Apparently the ref wouldn't speak in English and only spoke Japanese to the players on the pitch yesterday.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/foo...k-English.html

Isn't every ref supposed to speak English during a match, especially at this level?

[GirlySports]

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Mango

Apparently the ref wouldn't speak in English and only spoke Japanese to the players on the pitch yesterday.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/foo...k-English.html

Isn't every ref supposed to speak English during a match, especially at this level?

I don't buy that he doesn't know English. I could hear him speaking English during the coin toss. He's been a referee on the international stage since 2008 reffing the 2010 World Cup (he did 2 matches and was the 4th official in the final who had to talk to Howard Webb) and reffed the 2012 Olympics.

He just didn't want to argue with the Croatians and stood by his decision.

[iggyformayor]

4 more hours! Hup Holland Hup!!

[Senator Clay Davis]

Seems simple enough to me if you wanna cut diving out: Make it reviewable, and hand out automatic red cards to anyone who does it. But it's like in the NHL or NBA, if you can draw a penalty/foul doing it, and the consequences are nil, why wouldn't you?

[Bagor]

The Problem With World Cup Referees
FIFA Values Global 'Balance' Over Big-Game Experience

Imagine the U.S. playing for World Cup survival on June 26 against powerhouse Germany. Clint Dempsey and Michael Bradley line up on one side, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mesut Ozil on the other.
And the referee is a Tahitian named Norbert Hauata. He has never before been to the World Cup. Usually he referees squads like Dragon and Tamarii Faa'a back in Tahiti, a country that has never sent a team to the World Cup.
It could happen.
As an alternate in the pool of 33 World Cup referees in Brazil this month, Hauata is a pulled hamstring away from the biggest stage in the game. And it isn't just the alternates who lack experience. Among the 24 official referees are several who have never called games involving big-name teams and players.
The world's most popular sporting event uses a more democratic than meritocratic process for choosing referees. While the World Cup's 32 teams must play their way into the tournament through a grueling two-year qualifying process, FIFA, the sport's governing body, pulls referees from more than 40 countries out of a sense of fairness to all of its member associations. It is similar to how basketball's world governing body plucks officials from around the world to work the Olympic tournament.

http://online.wsj.com/articles/the-p...ees-1402354736

[PeteLFan]

Great win by Brazil to open up the tournament. Neymar and Oscar played fantastic. Oscar took the team on his back and really did a fantastic job. He played more on the right side then CAM, but his control and ability to get the ball back really helped.

You can blame the refs all you want, but Croatia lost 3-1 not 2-1, what about the other 2 goals? Not to mention they scored a big fluke goal as well, and hardly touched the ball just sitting back and letting Brazil come at them. Croatia lost to a better, and lost because of poor execution and bad goal keeping.

[AndyM]

Originally Posted by Mango

Isn't every ref supposed to speak English during a match, especially at this level?

Yes - regardless of what point it was in the match or if they were arguing a call, he should have replied in English. Unfortunately, for the Croats, it's a moot point now. This is a building block for the Croatians. With Mandukic in the lineup going forward, they can still win their next two matches.

[Mango]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

Seems simple enough to me if you wanna cut diving out: Make it reviewable, and hand out automatic red cards to anyone who does it. But it's like in the NHL or NBA, if you can draw a penalty/foul doing it, and the consequences are nil, why wouldn't you?

There's still an archaic way of thinking in soccer. It took them forever to implement goal-line technology. It's hard to say how long it would take to get the approval of reviewable plays.

[GirlySports]

There is a difference in soccer between diving and embelleshing. Soccer penalizes the former but not the latter. Until soccer gets into the 21st century and has 2 refs like in hockey. Conning the ref will continue to be part of the game.

[Tailgator]

Originally Posted by PeteLFan

Great win by Brazil to open up the tournament. Neymar and Oscar played fantastic. Oscar took the team on his back and really did a fantastic job. He played more on the right side then CAM, but his control and ability to get the ball back really helped.

You can blame the refs all you want, but Croatia lost 3-1 not 2-1, what about the other 2 goals? Not to mention they scored a big fluke goal as well, and hardly touched the ball just sitting back and letting Brazil come at them. Croatia lost to a better, and lost because of poor execution and bad goal keeping.

I think you're misunderstanding. I can't speak for everyone, but myself, I'm not blaming the refs for the win/loss (it's Croatia, it wasn't supposed to be close), but if this officiating is an indication of the highest level possible, it's pretty awful. The optics of it, Brazil's first game on home soil, couldn't have been worse. This was a ref who could not tune out the crowd and went with what was popular in the stands.

[Bagor]

Yup, an experienced ref doesn't get duped by the dive. Cards the cheating behaviour and the global optics of the game are a lot better than what they are.

Regardless of the result and the performances the story of the first game is the referee.

[PeteLFan]

I've been trying to see where the ref was when he made the call, because when it happend it looked like a foul. Only when they showed replays did it look like a soft play, but regardless you shouldn't put yourself in a position to get penalized in the box by grabbing someone.

[GirlySports]

Mexico and Cameroon in the rain. Should be fun.

-Chicharito not in the lineup.

[St. Pats]

Originally Posted by PeteLFan

I've been trying to see where the ref was when he made the call, because when it happend it looked like a foul. Only when they showed replays did it look like a soft play, but regardless you shouldn't put yourself in a position to get penalized in the box by grabbing someone.

What sealed it for me was the guy said afterwards I never even so much as touched him. Sorry buddy but you got exactly what you deserved.

[Bagor]

Originally Posted by St. Pats

What sealed it for me was the guy said afterwards I never even so much as touched him. Sorry buddy but you got exactly what you deserved.

Can you clarify? You believe it was the correct call?

[Stay Golden]

Did any of u download the CBC worldcup app. It is an office must. Excellent quality.