Sepp Blatter has called for a crisis meeting of FIFA chiefs to deal with the fallout created by the 'Hand of Henry'. It however changes nothing for the Irish since a senior Fifa source told the Press Association: "A replay is impossible. It would be against the rules of football."
The idea of having an extra referee's assistant behind each goal, as is the case in the Europa League, might well be discussed. This would mean another human eye behind each goal line as early as the World Cup.Wait and watch this space for more.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/internationals/8375320.stm
Showing posts with label Ireland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ireland. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
2010 FIFA World Cup Final Draw: Part 2 - 'French' connection and the 'Host' factor
In my previous post I talked about the formal procedure that could determine how FIFA would seed the teams before final draw happens on Dec 4. We saw the 8 lucky ones who would be seeded and therefore avoid each other at the group stage. Amongst the unseeded teams, Portugal could be feeling the most aggrieved because the 'French Connection' has cost them an entry to the elite group.
While 'Hand of Henry' has sunk Irish hearts the most it has also meant that Portugal have moved to the second tier of teams. If it was Ireland who had qualified, the points system would have meant a seed for Portugal and Ireland would have taken their place amongst the second rung.
Another aspect about the seeds and how they would impact the final draw is the host country. With none of the top 8 countries hosting, SA have been auto drafted into the elite group to make sure they play the opening fixture as part of Group A. This again means that another top nation has lost on the elite spot. This time Netherlands suffer as they miss out on the top tier and together with Portugal would pose the greatest threat to the top 8 teams.
If both these anomalies were eliminated, we could have had both Portugal and Netherlands in elite group thus making life much easier for the top teams - including England.
While 'Hand of Henry' has sunk Irish hearts the most it has also meant that Portugal have moved to the second tier of teams. If it was Ireland who had qualified, the points system would have meant a seed for Portugal and Ireland would have taken their place amongst the second rung.
Another aspect about the seeds and how they would impact the final draw is the host country. With none of the top 8 countries hosting, SA have been auto drafted into the elite group to make sure they play the opening fixture as part of Group A. This again means that another top nation has lost on the elite spot. This time Netherlands suffer as they miss out on the top tier and together with Portugal would pose the greatest threat to the top 8 teams.
If both these anomalies were eliminated, we could have had both Portugal and Netherlands in elite group thus making life much easier for the top teams - including England.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Irish hopes dashed by the HAND of GOD
Ireland have been cheated and it's sad to see such crucial matches being decided by the 'hand of God'. England suffered at the hands of Maradona some 23 years ago and it's ireland now. The sad part is that we have learnt no lessons in more than 20 years.
I understand that human errors are hard to eliminate and that referee's would continue to have bad days at office once in a while. I also completely disagree with the 'moral' arguments made by some pundits blaming Henry and France of being the cheats. The article in Telegraph does just that and puts all the blame on Henry. I found it hard to find even one logical point in the entire article. Read for yourself and decide.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/international/republicofireland/6609355/Thierry-Henry-must-be-banned-from-playing-in-the-2010-World-Cup.html
There has been a lot of hue and cry about technology in sports and about the shortcomings of some of them, a simple video replay would have settled this issue in not more than 15 seconds.
Check the video at : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2D6LdNakzE
I understand that human errors are hard to eliminate and that referee's would continue to have bad days at office once in a while. I also completely disagree with the 'moral' arguments made by some pundits blaming Henry and France of being the cheats. The article in Telegraph does just that and puts all the blame on Henry. I found it hard to find even one logical point in the entire article. Read for yourself and decide.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/international/republicofireland/6609355/Thierry-Henry-must-be-banned-from-playing-in-the-2010-World-Cup.html
There has been a lot of hue and cry about technology in sports and about the shortcomings of some of them, a simple video replay would have settled this issue in not more than 15 seconds.
Check the video at : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2D6LdNakzE
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