Question/Issues re Soccer from Newbie

[AggieFactFinder]

I'm a casual fan who has gotten more interested over the last few years, and a lot of the reason is because of the excitement on this board. I'm sure this has been discussed a lot but maybe you can help me out with a few things. Here are a few things I'm not clear on or think are impediments to the sport gaining popularity here. If I use the wrong terms, forgive me as I'm a novice.

Time- this was discussed on the big thread a little. It's hard to stomach watching a team score in the waning minutes, then burn about a minute celebrating the score while the clock keeps running. Does the referee add time as the result of this? I don't think he does but I'm not sure. That's got to be hard as a fan, seeing a large % of the remaining time eaten up by a team jumping on each other. I realize the way to avoid this is to prevent the other team from scoring. Are we Americans just too addicted to orderly clock function? Same thing for stalling on goal kicks, etc. when time is dwindling. I also couldn't quite figure out the Turkey goal, which came 1 second or so after the added time. I assume the ref was adding a little time to the initial added time allotment?

Flopping or whatever it's called- I know this one has been covered and I agree with those who think this is a big turnoff here. Do players ever get carded for flopping/faking an injury? Can they receive any discipline for it after the game if nothing is called at the time?

Yellow cards- man that carryover is one steep penalty, especially when the call is borderline. Do players have any ability to challenge the validity of a yellow card after the game? Do they ever get reversed after the game or is the ref's decision final?

Thanks for your help. This tournament has been a lot of fun to watch.

 

[l00p]

I will poke at it but I am sure the guru's will be able to add to it.

First off, congrats. Your "off season" is now much shorter and exciting with a great game to keep you occupied and interested.

Yes, the ref can and sometimes does if a team over celebrates. Teams have better ways to burn time off the clock such as pin the ball on the out of bounds liine and hover over it. I hate when players do that, forcing the other player to either push them out or stab at it with their feet. But, I don't mind it when the US is ahead in a game and does that, ha. It frustrates me when it is done to a team I like. But the point is that sure, they can add time if they want to and likely do.

Goals don't come all that often sometimes and given what is at stake sometimes they freak out. In the grand scheme of things I don't think the minute or so that a team uses is that big a deal.

I loathe flopping and yes, players are sometimes given cards for blatant flopping. I laugh when this happens and am glad it does but it does not stop it. This is why some teams are unwatchable in my opinion and impossible to root for. But this happens in many sports to include basketball (when somebody tries to take a charge in the paint, etc...) and even football (when a wr overacts on contact with a db). It may not be as noticeable or often but there is a lot more action going on at a soccer field for a longer period of time.

Sometimes a borderline call can be a result of many warnings during a match or one before a match. A ref can constantly warn a player that anything else gets them a card. They persist and he gives them one for not only the minor infraction just now but for all the ones they let go with warnings that were ignored. That happens a lot.

I like that they carry over since it gives more bite to the penalty and affects strategy and sometimes how somebody will play. I respect the players who play as if they don't even have a care, esp. if they are aggressive ball hawks. But that misfires sometimes and they get a red, sent off the pitch and their team is a man down. Just depends.

Okay, time for Spain!!!

 

[Napoleon]

First off-**** THE ITALIAN FLOPPERS!!!!

Ok, now on to my response to your post.


TIME:

Usually a ref adds time for goal celebrations. Against Turkey, Croatia celebrated for about 55 seconds. Thus the ref added about a full minute to play.

Also, refs will not stop a game, or a half, exactly on a set minute. They will allow for the run of play in the offensive end to play out. If there is a set kick (Free Kick), the ref will allow for the kick to take place and then for any ensuing scrambling to finish before blowing the whistle.

Again, in the Croatia/Turkey game, if the ref only added one minute because of Croatia's celebrating, that would have been enough because the Turkish goalkeeper kicked the ball for the offsides free kick with at about 1:20:53. The play was was allowed to run its course and Turkey scored at about 1:21:01 or :02. Croatia was whining but the ref did everything by the book.

WASTING TIME-

Occasionally a goal keeper will receive a yellow card when wasting time at the end of a game to protect a lead. The ref probably adds a little time, but the time it takes to get off a goal kick can end up being around 25 seconds from when the ball goes out of bounds to when it is in play again late in a game.

 

[Napoleon]

FLOPPING: (See "Italian *******" in Wikipedia)

Flopping occurs, because like in the NBA, it works. The Italians are the worst offenders in the world. (Even worse than the Africans, South Koreans, and Latin Americans... especially Uruguayans.)

Flopping can be a last resort to get a set play or a penalty kick. (See "Italian ******* vs. Australia in the 2006 World Cup") "Instant Replay" would unquestionably correct this, but many don't seem favor this. See blow or see other threads.

Flopping also occurs because a defender has been constantly fouling the offensive player and the referee either doesn't see it or refuses to call it. These flops can occur in the same run of play or later in the game as a "**** you, you've been fouling me all game".

Sometimes what looks like a flop is actually a semi-real reaction to the pain from being hacked in the ankles or being raked with cleats on the ankle, shin, achiles tendon, or foot.

 

[Napoleon]

YELLOW CARDS:

You can challenge these after a game, but the success rate for a challenge is about 0.000001%. FIFA doesn't want to be put in the position of being held accountable for obvious mistakes, so like W Bush as Governor of Texas when overruling death penalty convictions, FIFA/UEFA... others usually let the yellows stick.

INSTANT REPLAY would help tremendously, but like baseball, many people prefer to allow the players who train all their lives to be screwed by people in the wrong place at the wrong time or like the NBA, simply have other concerns when refering.

VIDEO REVIEW after games would also help clean up the game. Whether assessing Yellow Cards after the fact or wiping out yellows that should not have been handed out, technology offers many cures for what ails soccer (and other sports), but many prefer to be cheated out of fair play.

 

[Knoxville-Horn]

I don't know. I've seen many Mexicans that can give the Italians a run for their money. Carlos Ruiz (Guatemala) may be the worst this side of Totti.

 

[1899horn]

The Italians may have concieved the flop, but it was elevated into a true art form by the Argentines. They do it in basketball, they love to do it in soccer. I think Claudio Caniggia was the one who patented the triple roll with the double squinted expression and clutching of the affected area. He's the only guy I have ever seen get a yellow card whilst on a stretcher, writhing in pseudo agony.

 

[TxEx84]

I'm soooo glad the Italians are out. Besides the flopping, the faking of injuries to kill Spain's momentum was killing me. Italy's style of play is tough to watch. The article by the AP writer in today's Statesman was perfect:

Italy plays soccer like a dentist pulls teeth

 

[Bluepies]

Flopping falls under "unsportsmanlike conduct" and can result in a yellow or red card at the referee's discretion, though I've never seen a red card issued for flopping. As a defenseman, I HATE HATE HATE players that flop after I make legal contact. As a referee, I've never called it, but only because I've only ever reffed 10-year-old rec leagues where they haven't learned to flop yet.

Referees are supposed to add penalty time to each half, usually about two minutes, to make up for any time the ball was out of play. The half is over when the whistle blows, not when the clock reads zero. The referee can add more or less time based on how often and how long the ball was out of play, though I would just wait for a good no-momentum time to blow the whistle (when the ball's in the middle of the field, etc).

This is not true for college, however. The clock counts down from 45:00 and the half is over when the clock reads zero, though the clock stops after goals and at the referee's discretion, usually during injuries or for a PK.

 

[Upgrayedd]

Argentina = the most Italian country in Latin America = muchisima floppiendo.

 

[pantone159]

Time - The ref should add extra time for time wasting, which a long celebration definitely is. The time to reset play after a goal isn't wasting, and does run off the clock, but celebrations should get added time. Extra time earned during extra time is added on. The ref could give a yellow for wasting, but it is easier to just make sure to add that on.

Flopping - The rules explicitly state (Law 12 Decision 5) that faking to fool the ref must get a yellow. But are the refs sure? I thought there was some recent emphasis that a player down shouldn't always mean the game should stop. They didn't seem to call that in Italy vs Spain... I kind of like the idea of post-game review to decide who really flopped, and adjust yellow cards earned/not earned, but I don't think anyone does that.

The NCAA doesn't play according to FIFA. There are changes with timekeeping, overtime, and especially substitutions. I wish the NCAA followed FIFA closer, but I don't know what the chance of that is.