Brazil beat Croatia 3-1 in the opening game of the World Cup.
Unfortunately, the game realized my biggest fear: A bad call deciding a game.
The one ugly aspect of soccer is the refereeing deciding outcomes of matches and with instant replay available to viewers it's asinine soccer doesn't consider some sort of coaching challenging system.
Croatia was getting the worst end of the calls all game which suggests team won't only have to fight through Brazil (which is a feat onto itself) but the officiating as well.
The worst of those was the penalty awarded. While there was an innocuous tug (and believe you me, there are far worse offenses that take place in the box) that clearly wouldn't impede a player's progress (in this case Fred), the Brazilian player Fred milked it for all it was worth and fell to the ground. The ref bought it.
The other questionable call was the one against Olic who jumped in the air for the ball in the box and the keeper Julio Caesar crashing into him. The call went against Olic. Croatia scored on the play but it was waved off.
Awful.
Suddenly, I'm watching this World Cup with one eyebrow up. I really pray it won't descend into chaos like 2002 - possibly the most disgusting tournament on record in the modern era.
Not the opening I envisioned.
****
Seems like 99% on the Internet agree with me. The backlash against Brazil is huge.
In 2013, Brazil won the Confederations Cup but not before they were the beneficiaries of incredible calls. In the Italy game, two goals scored by the Italians were waved off for off-side. Problem is, there wasn't. Moreover, the games against Italy and Spain were marked by brutal tackling by the Brazilians with scant a call. At one point, you could see Spain and Italy slow down their pace to avoid injury.
My thought then was 'I hope FIFA gets its shit together because that was embarrassing."
So much for that.
Unfortunately, the game realized my biggest fear: A bad call deciding a game.
The one ugly aspect of soccer is the refereeing deciding outcomes of matches and with instant replay available to viewers it's asinine soccer doesn't consider some sort of coaching challenging system.
Croatia was getting the worst end of the calls all game which suggests team won't only have to fight through Brazil (which is a feat onto itself) but the officiating as well.
The worst of those was the penalty awarded. While there was an innocuous tug (and believe you me, there are far worse offenses that take place in the box) that clearly wouldn't impede a player's progress (in this case Fred), the Brazilian player Fred milked it for all it was worth and fell to the ground. The ref bought it.
The other questionable call was the one against Olic who jumped in the air for the ball in the box and the keeper Julio Caesar crashing into him. The call went against Olic. Croatia scored on the play but it was waved off.
Awful.
Suddenly, I'm watching this World Cup with one eyebrow up. I really pray it won't descend into chaos like 2002 - possibly the most disgusting tournament on record in the modern era.
Not the opening I envisioned.
****
Seems like 99% on the Internet agree with me. The backlash against Brazil is huge.
In 2013, Brazil won the Confederations Cup but not before they were the beneficiaries of incredible calls. In the Italy game, two goals scored by the Italians were waved off for off-side. Problem is, there wasn't. Moreover, the games against Italy and Spain were marked by brutal tackling by the Brazilians with scant a call. At one point, you could see Spain and Italy slow down their pace to avoid injury.
My thought then was 'I hope FIFA gets its shit together because that was embarrassing."
So much for that.
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