Column: When players rule, anarchy ensues



http://seattlepi.nwsource..._Grip.html

By SIMON HAYDON
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

BERLIN -- Every soccer referee is taught that one of his main jobs is to ensure player safety. When the players show they can't control themselves, the referee must do it for them.

Unfortunately, Valentin Ivanov couldn't handle that essential chore Sunday, when Portugal played the Netherlands in the second round of the World Cup.

The result? A 1-0 win for Portugal, but also 16 yellow cards and four reds, equaling the record for most cards handed out in a World Cup game and setting a mark for expulsions in a single tournament match.

At this rate, the 2006 World Cup would finish with 352 yellow cards - 5.5 per game - and 28 reds.

That compares with 272 yellows and 17 reds handed out at the 2002 tournament and 258 yellows and 22 reds given out at France 1998.

On Monday Spanish referee Luis Medina handed out six yellow cards and one red - sending off Italy's Marco Materazzi - in Italy's 1-0 victory over Australia. The win was achieved thanks to a penalty kick given 12 seconds from the end of injury time.

So 297 yellow cards and 24 reds have now been handed out at Germany 2006, with no sign of curtailment.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter criticized the Russian referee's handling of the game, saying it was inconsistent and that he deserved a yellow card himself.

That's as clear a hint as possible from the FIFA boss that Ivanov, the son of a famous former international striker for the Soviet Union, will soon be on his way back to his full-time profession as a university teacher in Moscow and, like England's Graham Poll, will probably not be needed any more in Germany 2006.

It's not as if players didn't know they needed to be on their best behavior in Germany. FIFA announced a clampdown on elbowing, diving, shirt-pulling and delaying restarts before the tournament, and players were briefed at meetings just before the start of the World Cup.

Most of the games in Germany have been played in good spirit, although United States vs. Italy, Croatia vs. Australia and Sunday's match have been the high-profile exceptions in which violence and red cards were on display.

The first half-hour of Sunday's match gave only one indication it was going to be anything other than a tense clash between two excellent teams.

In the seventh minute, the Netherlands' Khalid Boulahrouz made what appeared to be an attempt to kick Portugal's most talented player, Cristiano Ronaldo, out of the game. He succeeded.

Ronaldo never recovered from the brutal challenge and limped off the field in tears 25 minutes later, having been reduced to jogging pace.

Should Ivanov have shown Boulahrouz a red card? The challenge clearly fell under the category of "serious foul play" and filled all the conditions referees use to decide if a player should be sent off. And a red card at that point of the match might have sent a crucial message to the players that violence was not going to be permitted.

Instead, the game gradually disintegrated into anarchy.

Portugal's Costinha was carded for a crude challenge, then sent off for deliberately handling the ball. And that was just in the first half. The last 30 minutes of the second period were marred by nonstop fouls and intimidation by both teams.

Most referees will argue that the failure to send off Boulahrouz and to stamp his authority on the game was Ivanov's only serious mistake. In fact, the first 35 minutes of the match were relatively calm, with just three yellow cards handed out, about average for the tournament.

But Ivanov was forced to react to the players' bad behavior rather than being able to predict and control it.

The first 14 minutes of the second half were free-flowing and compelling soccer. No cards were shown and the referee should have been enjoying the match.

Then, in one incident, it all went wrong. As Ivanov booked Giovanni von Bronckhorst for tripping, players milled about arguing and, behind the referee's back, Portugal captain Luis Figo clearly head-butted Mark van Bommel. The assistant ref saw something, but Figo only received a yellow card for what was clearly a red-card offense.

From then on, both teams lost control and the final whistle was a relief. It would have been no surprise if both teams had finished with eight men rather than the nine they wound up with.

Portugal clearly had an interest in disrupting the match as much as possible, preventing the Dutch from finding any rhythm. Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari is a wily fox and sought to use every means available to stop the Netherlands from building up any pressure.

Ivanov is no newcomer. He has refereed a Champions League semifinal between Inter Milan and AC Milan, and the final of FIFA's Confederations Cup. At 45, he is the oldest ref in the World Cup.

If Ivanov was allowed to justify himself in public - which all refs are discouraged from doing - it's pretty certain he would say there comes a point when soccer players decide they want to behave like animals. And one man with a whistle can't do much to stop them.

---

Associated Press Writer Simon Haydon is a licensed referee in England.
[Edited 6/29/06 8:27am]

Alright, forget that! All the time I thought you were German for some reason, but you're Dutch!


You prayers won't be heard, though.

althom said:

july said:

Here's a joke doing the rounds here. lol

An Australian has been arrested in Germany after a brawl after the Australia-Italy World Cup match.
Even though the Australian was 10 metres away, the Italian suffered a broken leg, fractured skull, a heart attack, possibly got cancer and developed diabetes.

He is expected to recover in a few minutes....

althom said:

Bollocks. That's us out then. I thought we played well considering we had to get by with only 10 men for an hour. Hargreaves was excellent and it was a good effort by all the lads. Our penalties were all pretty poor though, even the one that went in. Portugal played ok, but considering their advantage they didn't put as much pressure on as they might have. Ronaldo was diving all over the place, as usual, and typically irritating in his encouraging the ref to produce cards. There's no way we had enough to win this tournament considering the way we've played, but based on that performance I can't see Portugal going any further.

On to euro 2008

Fauxie said:

I don't really blame Rooney getting sent off for England losing the match. It was obvious he was going to get frustrated playing in that unnatural forward position and running his legs off for nothing It was a harsh sending off anyway, it seems it was more for the push on Ronaldo when in the previous match Figo only got a yellow card for headbutting someone! Ronaldo rushing into the ref is the reason Rooney lost it and got sent off - did you see the way he winked afterwards like a saying 'job done'. The Portugese were going down for every single thing, cheating gits, the ref did well to ignore most of their dives.

No, I blame Sven. I'm not a hater of Sven, I think his record with England is actually very good, I mean we used to struggle to even qualify for major tournaments until he came along. However, he's never got the best out of the players and most games we have won with him we have barely scraped through. His 'square pegs in round holes' formations undid us as much as the poor performances by our big players. I blame our hugely long season though, they were all tired, Lampard and Gerrard never really got going.

But you can't forgive Sven for his choice of strikers. Owen was not matchfit anyway, neither was Rooney, bringing Walcott was a disasterous mistake, you need experience at the world cup unless you are some kind of footballing genius - which clearly he can't be or Sven would have tried him. That left Crouch who has his uses but we should have brought 2 other out-and-out strikers instead. I think the England camp needs a shake-up after this poor tournament - and I don't see Mclaren doing that.

Bloody hell, though, is every England manager doomed to lose a major game on penalties! Why are we so shit at taking them and everyone else is so good? This is one of those training areas that needs shaking up.

Brasil's out, the final will be FRA-GER, GER will be champion.....mark my words!

If I ever have an argument with an englishman I'm going to settle it by challenging him to a penalty shootout!

bkw said:

And tell him Phil Scolari is your Dad!

july said:

Here's a joke doing the rounds here. lol

An Australian has been arrested in Germany after a brawl after the Australia-Italy World Cup match.
Even though the Australian was 10 metres away, the Italian suffered a broken leg, fractured skull, a heart attack, possibly got cancer and developed diabetes.

He is expected to recover in a few minutes....

Bollocks. That's us out then. I thought we played well considering we had to get by with only 10 men for an hour. Hargreaves was excellent and it was a good effort by all the lads. Our penalties were all pretty poor though, even the one that went in. Portugal played ok, but considering their advantage they didn't put as much pressure on as they might have. Ronaldo was diving all over the place, as usual, and typically irritating in his encouraging the ref to produce cards. There's no way we had enough to win this tournament considering the way we've played, but based on that performance I can't see Portugal going any further.

On to euro 2008

Fauxie said:

i just got home, and watched the match. i knew the outcome already.... but had to see it for myself. i have to say that i think england played a good game... and portugal was annoying the hell out of me for all those stupid dives they were taking!! and ronaldo up in the ref's face which resulted in rooney getting a red card (when on the replay it doesn't look that bad, but more like the player got clipped a little and "sold it".... though i guess only he will ever know for sure...)

even my sister, who is not even a fan of football, much less england, was watching the game with me and was getting disgusted and portugal's "babyishness" as she put it.... crying at every little thing, trying to disrupt the play.

i haven't watched the penalties yet. i had my timer set and didn't think to set it for the possibility of extra time and penalties. so my neighbor tivo'd it and is going to record it so i can watch it. (one of the perks of living next to a college soccer coach....he already tivos all the games! )

i'm so bummed.