I am not at work today because I am ill. I evidently ate something that did not at all agree with me. The down side is that I split 70% of my time between sleeping and being in the bathroom. The upside is that I get to watch more World Cup!
Today's first match was between Italy and Australia. At one point, it looked like there was going to be yet another case of a referee inserting himself too much into the game, with an unwarranted red card going against Italy. That seemed to be the only real error made by the ref.
So, thanks to a bad call, Italy had to play most of the second half a man down. They held off Australia, however, and at the last moment in stoppage time, they earned a penalty kick, which resulted in Italy winning the game at the last second. Very exciting!! At least in the end a single poor refereeing decision did not effect the ultimate outcome of the game (this time).
5 comments:
You seem not to have noticed that the Italian player clearly faked a fall in order to snatch a dubious victory.
The Italians have a well-known track record for this type of behaviour, and it really should be disrespected by all lovers of soccer, especially as the video replays all clearly showed that an injustice happened in Germany tonight.
Google the blogs and discover the truth as the majority of others see it.
No, I noticed that. Note that I said "earned". There is nothing wrong with playing up something like that, especially if the Australian is going to be stupid enough to go down like he did. Had the Australian player not gone down, there would have been no penalty kick.
Thanks for stopping by...
OK, anony, I googled the posts, and opinion is quite split as I would expect.
I did learn that the unwarrented red card (which most people agree was unwarrented) was later in the game than I thought, but I was pretty much in and out for the whole first half of the game, so the red flag seemed early on to me... Corrected my post accordingly.
Yes, well you, or anyone, can say that of course but my estimation of the online blog comments about this match differs from your assessment that it is "quite split". Opinion is , as with any internet discussion, 'quite split', but I suggest that it appears to be probably 80/20 in Australia's favour, and against Italy's theatrical dive to win this match.
This is just one example from http://www.boredworkers.com/2006/06/27/world-cup-italian-job/
TEXT FOLLOWS:
It was a late challenge 5 seconds towards the end that was the Australian’s downfall. A defender sprawled on the ground and the Italian striker tripped over the body near the penalty area. The referee awarded a VERY questionable penalty to the Italians! Totti took the kick and beat the goalie to bring the Italians through to the next round.
Final score 1-0, in what was a very dramatic match with a very strange finish. The Australian fans must be cursing the referee and their luck while the Italians celebrate a stolen victory. The Soccaroos have nothing to be ashamed about with their performance.
EXTRACT ENDS
Opinion is , as with any internet discussion, 'quite split', but I suggest that it appears to be probably 80/20 in Australia's favour
Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. Don't really care to do an in depth study on it...
The Soccaroos have nothing to be ashamed about with their performance.
I will certainly agree with that. They played well. They should be proud of what the accomplished.
There is still no doubt in my mind, however, that the final penalty was properly called, regardless of any theatrics that may have been involved.
Now, the stupid thumb sucking celebration afterwards I could have easily lived without... :)
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