The disallowed goal rolls into town

Everyone wants to see a fair game. As football's governing body, FIFA comes on strong on match-fixers. Nonetheless, this doesn't spare them from the occassional spotlight, bad press and foul cry. Goodchristianboy looks at the standard of refereeing at the last world cup, a conspiracy theory or two, and exposes the hypocricy of Sepp Blatter's regime.

In the wake of last week's fresh reports on an impending German match-fixing scandal, the upper echelons of football governance have again been jolted into action. The world cup organising committe are quick to assert that they doubt the "bundesliga player" linked is a german. the german soccer federation are expectedly on the defence. in their bid to prevent another robert hoyzer fiasco (hoyzer was the german referee who confessed to have taken bribes and fixed matches, and resigned as a FIFA referee), you might soon see FIFA themselves stepping in again.

FIFA's stance on match fixing is undoubtedly strong, and neccessarily so. However, something in the workings of the governing body still feels wrong - four years after the fiasco of last world cup, and fans are still asking the hard questions.

• Why did Spain have two clear goals disallowed against Korea?


• Why did Italy have five goals in three games disallowed en-route losing to Korea?


• Why was Italy v Korea refereed by an Ecuadorian, only days after Italy knocked out Ecuador?


• Why did FIFA appoint a referee with a notorious record in his native league?

Byron Moreno sends off Totti after disallowing a winning Italian goal

Following Italy's and Spain's controversial defeats to world cup hosts Korea, massive outrage ripped through europe. angry fans demanded better refereeing and assistant refereeing. television was saturated with video replays involving the controversial decisions, most of which very clearly vindicated the case of the victims. emotional tabloids went as far as to call the world cup rigged, and while such accusations should not be taken lightly at all, the odd observer will understand why. the hysteria of Korea's run filled not just the stadia but the streets with throngs of jubilant host fans. from a commercial, political and symbolic perspective, the 2002 world cup is probably the most successful ever. but was there any water to these allegations?

Byron Moreno, the Ecuadorian referee mentioned above did, among other things, award Korea a contested penalty, disallowed an Italy goal, and sent off Italian star Totti for diving, while Totti was in the Korean box, and Moreno was in the centre circle. These are the facts.

The second of Spain's disallowed goals was what would have been their golden goal, called off for having gone 'out' when video evidence showed that the ball had not even touched the line. These are the facts.

Gamal Ghandour gets strict after the second disallowed Spain goal

Amid the furore, Sepp Blatter came strong against poor refereeing, but left it to FIFA spokesmen to deliver the weak news. "One or two major mistakes have been made which is a concern", said Fifa spokesman Keith Cooper. "Referees are only human and errors can never be entirely eliminated."

This tone has been repeated elsewhere in FIFA, arguing the humanity and fallibility of referees. Ironically, George Cumming, the director of FIFA's Development Division, argues that FIFA choose only the best referees to train for the world cup. "They have gained their places by performing to a consistently high level in major matches, both nationally and internationally", Cumming defends. "They have been tested in the white-hot heat of hostile environments during the qualifying matches and they have proved their ability to handle the pressures they will face in Korea and Japan."

But if that is so, then why is it that such elementary errors of officiating were seen at the very highest stage? Surely, referees know that under-officiating is better than over-officiating, that's something every pundit, commentator and fan knows. Surely, assistant referees know that when in doubt, the offisde rule must give the attacking team the benefit of the doubt, that's something lay people know.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter washes his hands off scandal

Ultimately, FIFA have painted themselves into a lose-lose situation. If they crucify the refereeing standard, they are essentially admitting that their very best is rubbish. If they protect the referees, then the spotlight falls on the uppper echelons of the game. There is no victory for Sepp Blatter and his minions. FIFA eventually chose to mildly chastise the standard of officiating, apologising for errors, and then refusing once again to introduce video evidence into the sport. In all this, FIFA fail to realise that referees are not an end to itself, they are merely a means towards a greater end - fair decisions. Their refusal to introduce new technology to the sport implies that FIFA either do not consider fair decisions more important than the refereeing profession, or that they just want to keep major decisions in the hands of men.

Conspiracy theories abound - many are not worth the time of day, yet the recent Korea fiasco has been the most cogent one to surface in the last ten, twenty years. is it just coincidental that amid so many refereeing errors and controversies, two giants of the game were taken out and co-hosts Korea, climbed into the semi-finals? This writer will not go one way or another, but suffice to say, FIFA has made some decisions that have not helped their credibility.
Their selection of an Ecuadorian to referee a stage two Italy game provided a hotbed of potential for controversy, and the can of worms duly did its spill. This could easily have been avoided had FIFA appointed a referee with no potential conflict of interest.

Will you tolerate bad refereeing in Germany?

Their reluctance to do more than defend referees' human errors fails to convince fans and the media that FIFA is committed to improve the accuracy of officiating. FIFA's lackadaisical and laissez faire approach to referee errors is a scandal in its own right. As the game's governing body, FIFA have no right to treat such allegations so lightly, trivialising them as the empty vessel noise of sour grapes. they aren't. they are legitimate cries for justice and fairness in a game that deserves to be beautiful.

Therefore, this is the hypocrisy: that on the one hand, FIFA are so zealous about stamping out match-fixing, and on the other, they are so non-committal when the standard of their referees is questioned. Can FIFA shine the spotlight on others but not have the spotlight shine on them? Does their refusal to be more transparent reveal a discomfort about having their decisional processes scrutinised? And why is that so? If FIFA are truly committed to cleaning up the sport, should they not set the example from within, and for once honestly and candidly engage with the sentiments that follow scenes of gross injustice on the pitch? In all this, FIFA, led by Sepp Blatter, needs to look long and hard at themselves before they can move the game forward, because another world cup is beckoning, and again, the world want to tune in for football, not squabbles.

When the world cup rolls into Germany, we expect FIFA to be responsible: for selecting the right referees, for enforcing the right refereeing, for ensuring that their decisions do not open themselves up for controversies, and ultimately for showing the world that they are serious about the clean and fair image of the world game, not just when the eyes of the world are on bookies and bad apples, but also when the hard light is on them.

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Fallen Heroes: Johann Cruyff

Every World Cup, a hero falls. Goodchristianboy presents a series of world cup darlings who crashed in spectacular style.

He may not be the original fallen darling, but he was probably the most gifted, most mythified and perhaps also the most deserving of the glory that never came. By 1974, Johann Cruyff had established himself as one of the great players of his generation. As the star of the total football teams of Ajax and Holland, Cruyff had everyone's tongue salivating in the lead up to the 1974 cup.

And he delivered - a series of scintilating performances saw the original orange army terrorise Yugoslavia, Poland and then knock Brazil out of the tournament. Only hosts West Germany stood before him and immortality. But behind the scenes, everything had crumbled. It is reported that Cruyff spent hours on the eve of the final on the phone with his wife, diffusing rage that ensued him being photographed with other women while competing in Germany. The entire dutch side was already in meltdown.

The following day, Cruyff took the field in seemingly arrogant and unperturbed fashion, striding his way to a first minute foul that earned Neeskens a penalty, and Holland their only goal of the final. Sadly, a disrupted Holland failed to finish the West Germans off, and conceded two goals en-route to world cup silverdom.

Perhaps the greatest team to never win the world cup, Holland's star man Cruyff was also perhaps the greatest player to have never been a world champion. The world had built it's highest tower, and the world had seen it fall.

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World Cup Memories: Baggio and the pie in the sky

Match: Italy v Brazil
Stage: USA 94 Final

Tied at 0-0 after extra time, Italy and Brazil take the greatest honour of world football to penalties for the first time in its history. Brazil go first, and the two teams trade blows. Last of the five designated penalty kickers is Italy's golden son, Roberto Baggio.

Baggio places the ball, steps back, runs up and skies the ball into the air. The whole world watches in horror - Brazil in ecstacy, and Italy in disbelief. The divine ponytail was finally fallible. And how cruel a way to find out.

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The Underachievers Pt 2

While Holland always had a bit of downside on luck when trying to win a major tournament, Spain has always just plain not performed well in one. With La Liga invaded by world class balls busters such as Zidane and err ... Ronaldo, Spanish players have the luxury of playing against some of the best players in the world, unlike Scottish 'juara kampungs' such as Rangers and Celtic.

With a lineup boasting Joaquin, Reyes, Raul (when he is not moonlighting in a treating room), Puyol and Torres, one would expect Spain to be a frontrunner in any tournament. And they usually are, often lauded by football experts as having the guile and skill to bring it home. And they respond by losing to South Korea on penalties in the last World Cup. Okay, that was below the belt. After all, Morientes did have a perfectly good goal disallowed.

This year, their pool of talent is hardly dilluted. With Hierro finally retreating to a retirement home around the Reebok Stadium, Spain has a new look squad that breaths fire and pungent Spanish chilli. And if they can get Raul to start finding where the goal posts are and getting Puyol to trim that bloody ugly medieval afro of his, then maybe Spain can finally look to bringing something home for their fans.

But if they do fail sensationally again, at least they can now blame it on Beckham's publicity and how it wrecked the concentration of the Real players in the squad. Brilliant.

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Two cool kits

Football kits can sometimes get quite outlandish. Usually, they seemed like a good idea at the time, and then later, armchair football commentators with nothing better to do (like me) come out of the woodwork, armed with the shield of hindsight and the sword of the latest nike line, and we denegrate these old kits as being examples of fashion faux pas. I'll do that, in due time. But today, allow me to remind you of two football kits that i thought were totally cool as a kid, and still proudly do, no matter how many people derile them as being hideous mistakes.

Holland 1988
Home, Adidas

In 1988, the orange army strode to euro glory wearing this questionable adidas number, with what can best be described as "diagonal designs" going in opposite directions with fade-in-out orange print. West Germany wore a green version at the 1990 world cup (famously in the semi-final clash with England) but it was always the orange one of Holland that stood out. I can see why it looks stupid, but the dutch players looked so cool in them. Marco van Basten looked so cool in them. And the fact that they won the euro in those kits just makes it so much more acceptable.

i remember drawing pictures of a football scene for art in school, and i drew the holland team scoring a goal, wearing this shirt. it doesn't work well in black and white pencil drawing. my teacher asked me why you could see the footballers' bones. she so didn't get it.


USA 1994
Home, Adidas

Everyone thought this was a cool top when it came out. i remember the newspapers doing a story on how it was so different from the other football kits out there. for me, at 14, i just understood it as USA not understanding what football was all about and not knowing how to do things like the europeans. nonetheless, i thought it was a cool kit.

some years back, i read a story on worst football kits, and this was in that list. i disagree. it may not be conventional, the red shorts may shock you at first, but it's actually a really cool top. from far, ie tv camera angle, they look like they're wearing grey/blue tops. up close, you see the stars. you couldn't find a more over-the-top american top, but it looks nice when they run. eric wynalda, pictured here, proves that it also looks cool when you trample on Colombians.

Goodchristianboy is a scholar on the history of football kits and landmark jerseys, and regards himself as specialist in this area.

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The Ball Will Come Round

Who wants to bet?

I say that just before the world cup, there'll be news reports saying that the official ball is gonna make life hell for goalkeepers, and one or two top goalies will come out and confirm this, and one or two players will come out and say that it's too light or too round or too square or whatever, and then FIFA will say that this ball will result in more goals, and Adidas will say that they've developed a ball that is more accurate than the old ball, and the new ball will get about 1.5 days of media attention before the interest dies down, and nobody will talk about the football ball or the technology that births it until 2010, when the same circus starts all over again.

Any takers?

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World Cup Memories: Schumacher v Battison

Match: West Germany v France
Stage: Spain 82 Semi Finals

Second half. 1-1. France play a long ball towards the West German goal, leaving Patrick Battison chasing goalward, and West German stopper Harald Schumacher racing out. Both jump: Battisson for the ball, and Schumacher for Battisson. The clatter leaves the French defender unconscious, and with no substitutions left, France plod on with ten men. The West Germans wait to see if Schumacher's card is yellow or red. Then the refree calls it: goal kick.

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Ugliest Footballers to Grace the World Cup

Not that I am saying I am a bag of good looks but seriously, some footballers are living proof that you can't have everything in this world. Silky skills - check. Powerful header - check. Well timed tackles - check. Ugly mug - check.

Here are the Top 5 ugly footballers to grace the last 3 World Cups. I am sure there are some howlers before but it's 3pm so I am too lazy to research. These five came straight to mind with seriously, very little thought.

Ronaldinho

Is there anyone that dares question this fella's ability? Ability to play football that is, not pull chicks. Well at least he can tell people he is a smashing player when everything fails. I mean, who needs good looks when you've got two good feet right? Right? Errr ...

Stig Tofting

Okay I know, first question - the guy on the left or right? Well the guy on the left is pretty nasty stuff too but no, he does not look like a Stig does he? The guy on the right on the other hand, now that's a Stig and a few stones. Seriously would you enjoy playing against that? Then again would you enjoy playing with that? Poor Danish footballers.

Oliver Kahn

Sometimes I wonder if the only reason why Kahn keeps his place in the national side is because the Germans are worried that their footbal team do not look German any more. Come on, look at him. Can he be of any other race? Not that I am saying Germans are generally ugly but there are ugly Germans. There certainly are.

Rene Higuita

There's a good drug runner joke here somewhere. By the way, he is Colombian.

Carlos Valderrama

Another Colombian. What is this I hear about Sount American girls sweeping beauty pageants. Well, we know where all the good genes went. Not to the footballers I suppose. At least, not to this gifted but poor soul.

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For Us

I admit it - I am a shameless England fan.

Ever since I saw England painfully lose the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup to a boring German side through a penalty shootout where Stuart Pearce missed the decisive kick, I have been hooked on rooting the Three Lions on in tournaments.

This year sees manager Sven-Goran Ericksson joining a list of previous managers such as Bobby Robson and Terry Venables as an outgoing manager after a major tournament. Ericksson's contract terminations comes with little surprise as besides coddling the team through a see-saw ride of form, he has spent plenty of his resources chasing secretaries and swinsuit models. Granted that he looks like the stereotypical mad/maniacal/'ham sap' professor suggests that Eriksson has a propensity to do the impossible.

With the Kevin Keegan howler period firmly behind, Swede Eriksson arrived in 2001 without the backing of the patriotics but with plenty of promise. The impossible he did not do but he did managed to yank Beckham from his wardrobe long enough to make him captain and turned England into a more attractive looking side, football-wise.

In the last decade, England has had a pretty decent squad. While peers such as Germany struggle with constipation in trying to crap out a new generation of footballers, England has had an abundance of world class under the 'uncle' age of 30.

The fact that this World Cup is staged in Europe, the squad that England has and their peers struggling to find their shape, 2006 may be Beckham's best shot wearing the pants around the house again. Or he might call his next child Frankfurt (insert sausage jokes here).

England needs to win. Not because Rooney needs more medals to throw at prostitutes but because the fans here want it. The ones who slave on a weekday to wake up at 3.30am to watch a pointless friendly between England and Uruguay.

Most of us were still 'swimming' when England last won the World Cup.

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Case For Europe

Predicting world cup winners is a well-loved sport. Futile as it may be, we are all guilty of indulging in the odd prophecy. Some look at form, some look at class, and some look to favourites. Goodchristianboy looks at a curious bit of world cup history, and suggests you can already rule out Brazil.

Before you make that bold bet on Argentina or Brazil winning the next world cup, you might want to know that every time a world cup is held in Europe, a European team wins, and every time it's held outside Europe, a South-American team wins. This is almost always true, but for one exception: Brazil triumphing in Sweden in 1958.

The balance is poised so thinly, so precariously, since Europe takes its turn to host every other world cup, and so the inter-continental struggle for supremacy rocks back and forth in an ever-intriguing battle for domination.

Assuming this is true, assuming Brazil's triumph so long ago in Sweden is the exception that proves the rule, who among this edition's European powerhouses seems most likely to be crowned world champions?

Could it be Germany, riding on the winds of organic home ground advantage (or FIFA-induced home ground advantage? We'll leave this for another day)? Their results are shocking, but these things do happen.

Could it be England, with their worldwide appeal, household names and tabloid presence? Some will say that if it is ever to happen, it will have to happen now.

Or could it be France, who boast such glittering stars as Henry, Trezeguet and Vieira? Or is the France of today no more than a monument of its former glory?

Maybe it will be Italy, who boast wonderful form, a masterclass manager, and the time-honoured defensive mettle? Can the Azzuri surface from annonimity, like they did in Spain, to shock the world again?



Of these former champions, one figures that the odds are stacked somewhat even, and each has a valid case. But what about a new champion? What about the other European giants who have never tasted World Cup glory? Could the Olimpiastadion come July be crowining a maiden crown?

The Netherlands might make a strong case. The orange army has been knocking on the door of the weltpokal since 1974. Can Marco Van Basten inspire his young team out of a tricky first round group towards total football glory?

And what of Spain? So mighty domestically, yet always so disastrous on the global stage. Their first xi reads like the glitterati of europe's best, still no one would dare put their money on the world cup's perrenial disappointment.

And then there's Portugal. Coached by Luis Filipe Scolari, can one expect much from his young transitional team?

The Czechs? The Swedes? Both have been runners up before, yet sometimes you just know it, when history counts and when history doesn't. The underdogs won't win it. spain likely won't. This writer thinks that France, Germany and the Netherlands may do well but the title really, really comes down to these two teams: England and Italy.

As for the South Americans, whether late or early, they will be vanquished.


Follow the links for other stories in the series.
Case for Underdogs
Case against Favourites

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World Cup Memories: Rene Higuita v Cameroon

Match: Colombia v Cameroon
Stage: Italia 90 Second Round

Deep in extra time, cheeky Colombian goalkeeper-wanabe-libero Rene Higuita brings the ball out of the box and plays a one-two with his defender. Cameroon star Roger Milla nips into the intimate moment, steals the ball and races towards goal. Higuita chases, dives in for a tackle but can only watch in horror as he Milla taps in the goal that knocks Colombia out of the World Cup and Higuita into the Hall of Shame.

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The Underachievers

Other than the Three Lions, I have always had a soft spot for the Orange Army.

Then again, ever since they missed two penalties in normal time on the way to a morale sapping defeat to Italy in Euro 2000, I have barely been able to distinguish if the soft spot was as a result of me hero worshipping the holy trinity of Dutch football, Marco Van Basten, Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaardn when I was 10, or that it is just a humanistic bout of pity.

For a team with the lineage of players such as Johan Cruyff, the aforementioned trio and more recently, the nucleus of the European Cup conquering Ajax team in 1995, it amazes me that they've never won a World Cup.

Are they going to do it this year? Onus is, less than likely. The current team looks terrily imbalance and inexperienced. With the exception of Robben and Van Nistelrooy (whose consistency appears to be finally creaking), they lack explosive players that have proven themselves in the international stage, and more importantly, capable of turning matches around.
But alas, less and worst was probably said of the frighteningly efficient Greece team that took the title in Euro 2004 with the power of brute strength and German organization.

But for a team that invented 'total football', the Dutch have no intrinsic ability to rest their laurels on 1-0 victories.

Such a pity indeed.

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Argentina In Trouble

Juan Roman Riquelme. Carlos Teves. Lionel Messi.

If all three don't remind you of Maradonna because of their uncanny skill on the ball, they should at least bear the semblance of being connected to Boca Juniors or Barcelona. Between them, they have more ability than 1.1 million Gary Nevilles. It was a long time since Argentina had a charismatic number 10, but now they've got three in the same mould. Yet, why is it that with all three in the starting lineup, Argentina can't win a game?

Recent 3-2 defeats to England and Croatia must surely put the spotlight on Jose Pekerman's ability to get a mouth-watering first xi playing mouth-watering football. because surely, one look at the starting lineup against Croatia tells you that this team is in every way equal, if not better, than its 1986 incarnation of Valdano, Burruchaga, Maradonna.

Not that any impending criticism would be new. Since his succession of Marcelo Bielsa, Pekerman has been beset by cynics claiming he is only as good a gaffer as a youth team champion gaffer. His step-up into the big arena has been patchy, as his lacklustre surrender of the Confederations Cup to Brazil might testify. His failure to know his best xi, his Svenesque penchant for trying too many players and his overreliance on unestablished Argentina-based players have all been somewhat salient criticisms.

Such is the cynicism in the Argentine press over the present setup that former star Oscar Burruchaga spoke out a few months ago saying that the present team don't dive enough. The world cup winning midfielder expounded on Argentina's weaker qualities, that they get up too quickly after tackles, that they don't fall down easily enough. Argentine players, he claimed, need to wise up and play more dirty.

But does the present Argentina need cynicism? Do guys like Riquelme, Teves and Messi need to fall easy and roll long? Add to the mix Aimar, Crespo and D'Allesandro and surely you have a frontline that can open up any defence, no matter how many times they leak a goal.

Still, Argentina find themselves struggling against on par opposition such that their most recent victory came in the form of a hollow 3-0 against Qatar. Compound their dismal form with Argentina's poor outing four years ago in Japan (i say Japan, not Japan/Korea, because they never left for the second round in Korea), and one can see how the pressure cooker really starts cooking for Jose Pekerman. His stars are likely to be relatively free from the crucifix - not while their respective club form remain so scintilating anyway. So if anyone's head is really on the block, it is the man who needs to prove that winning youth championships is the beginning, not the end, of his illustrious managerial career.

And if he can't get his team playing nice, then maybe he needs to listen to Burruchaga. What does he know? He won the world cup, didn't he? In the true spirit of Argentine football... diving, acting, cheating.

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The Shawn Wright-Phillips for Starting XI Campaign

Ahh yes, the age old sucking up the boss trick. Not sure if it is employed rapidly though but a decent bet's on it happening pretty often with Becks still retaining his captaincy and remarkably his starting XI spot after everyone short of the tea lady in the dressing room out-performing him.

Shaun Wright-Phillips' (SWP) arrival as a sub in last night's friendly against Uruguay for Becks raised some potent questions, the most notable being - 'why in the name of Ivan Campo's afro is Becks still starting?' SWP made things happen when Becks was ball watching with a cup of tea in hand for the whole first half. He sent a brilliant ball through for Gary Neville and supplied the winning cross for Joe Cole. What did Becks had to show for it? A yellow card, a missed sitter and a sassy hair cut.

Sure SWP is about the size of a underfed jalapeno but hey, Maradona proved that the lack of size matters little.

Or at least he used to prove that theory.

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40 Years of Hurt

What will they do to win the world cup?

ten years ago, they got ian broudie to write a cute anthem hoping that the jingle will somehow fuel a nation starved of international silverware enough to euro glory.

but it didn't work, did it?

two years later, they even remixed the song... BUT IT DIDN'T WORK, DID IT?

they'll try anything now. the final spanner in the works - a retrospective away kit reminiscent of their 1966 winning top... except... what's that gold number, shoulder cross design and umbro badge doing there?

it won't work, will it?

but like i said, they'll try anything now. it's actually really simple. bench beckham. scrap the diamond. hire pearce. and sack gary neville.

you don't need your forty years of hurt.

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test 2.

test 2. fergus is a supermodel cum football star

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