Question Number: 13140

6/22/2006

RE: World Cup Other

Steve Davis of Grant, Alabama United States asks...

Good afternoon all!

I know this is not the best forum for my comments, but I must give my opinion about the World Cup commentating and other opinions that have been flying around cyberspace and television.

In short, US commentators should comment about the game, the skills of the players, and the coaching, the areas they are most knowledgeable about. They should SHUT THEIR MOUTHS ABOUT THE REFEREES! "Referees ruin games." Where does Eric Wynalda come up with such inflamatory garbage? How much experience does he or Marcelo Balboa have as referees? NONE! Referees do a hard and thankless job. Without us, no futbol. And the USA did not lose due to bad officiating, they lost due to bad coaching and bad playing.

And now, here in Alabama, we have people calling for futbol (soccer) to be "cleaned up" BY ADDING MORE RULES. We've tried that in high school (NFHS) and we still have a physical, thuggish, ugly game here in America. Here's an idea. Let's clean up the game by ALLOWING REFEREES TO DO THEIR JOBS! Futbol has 17 concise laws that allow for a free flowing, action filled game (and no, low scoring does not entail boring). We do not need to confuse things by bringing in our version of the infield fly rule.

Coaches, instruct your players. Players, train and play hard. Fans, cheer madly for your sides. But all of you, let the ref alone and let him work.

Thank you for your time and consideration. Here's hoping for a Ghana v. Mexico final!

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Your comments from the great neighboring state of Alabama are not only welcome, they are correct. You can't "clean up the game" by adding more rules. The rules are already in place to have a clean game but referees need to enforce them. As you've seen in this World Cup, foul play is being punished and it irritates coaches and players. The commentators have ruined the games I've watched so I turn the volume off. This is a shame as I enjoy the crowd noises. Hold your ground. Write to your State Association and outline why you don't need any additional rules. Do your games, punish what needs to be and enjoy. You have the power on your field to keep the game safe and fun for the players. Ignore the parents and throw out the abusive coaches. Our biggest problem in Georgia are referees that allow abusive coaches. Then when the coach draws someone like me he ends up going home and writing to complain about the referee!

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

I have written to ABC sports and asked why this is so. They saw fit to ignore the question. One can only speculate why this is so. Perhaps they think this is something that attracts viewers, not me. I now watch the games on ORF 1 in Austria...

Adding more Laws to Football is live taxing a country into prosperity. Just enforce the ones on the books, the referees at the World Cup are doing just that, problem is the players have never been taught to play without fouling. The USA lost because we, the referees in America, failed to prevent their foul play and they were never forced to use skill alone.

Regards,