No Cameras For Football, Please
No sex determination please, for the sake our girls
No Sex, Please - We’re Japanese
No peeing in public please!
No middle finger please
Above is the discounted English goal which may have made all the difference to the Three Lions...but probably not.
British fans are seething after their second goal in the Round of 16 World Cup match against historic rivals German was discounted after the respective referee failed to recognize it. The football clearly went in before the German goalie grabbed and all parties, including FIFA officials speaking after the match, agree it should have counted.
It is was not an insignificant matter or irrelevance. Had the goal be recognized it would have equalized the game 2-2 before the half. The Germans ended up winning 4-1, but an equalizing goal in the first half would have greatly changed the psychology of the match. While I believe the Germans would have won anyway because they demonstrated better coordination and were more daring in scoring than England, who knows what an energized as opposed to trailing British squad would have done? And Brits fans may certainly believe that an equalizer would have instilled a new energy and made all the difference in the match. So some Brits may even believe that the referee's failing may have cost them the World Cup. I think that's far-fetched, but the Brits are certainly right to be angry,
My regards to the Brits, but their demands for a change in FIFA rules in light of the recent mishap is misplaced. A camera review rule would have certainly given them the goal and the Brits, and many others, are now requesting just that. FIFA, they argue, should mandate camera reviews for vital World Cup matches.
I disagree. FIFA's president is certainly right to argue that it is impractical for football (or soccer) to institute such a scheme. Part of the allure of football is its constant ongoing play as opposed to the stop-and-go of many other sports. A review process would lead to constant stoppage and undermine the thrill and pace of the game. It is simply a fact of football that sometimes bad calls will be made. That is part of the excitement. Sometimes you get a goal offsides and it counts when it shouldn't and sometimes you rightly score but it does not count. Whatever it may be that is simply part of the reality of football that makes it so engaged. A spontaneous double-edged sword which makes the game more exhilarating. Camera reviews would take that away and thus undermine the game.
It is simply incumbent on teams to play better and score more so they do not have to then agonize so much over one discounted goal. After all, German scored 4 against England. If the British simply played better that one goal either should not have been an issue or it would only be an issue if the Brits went down 3-4 or 1-2. The Brits can hardly claim that it all came down to that one goal given the lackluster performance of their players.
So concentrate on improving team play and leave the refs and the rules alone.
