WORLD CUP

[Booche]

I will be hitting The Gap Of Dunloe at 3pm today if any of you Suzie's want to meet me for the Germany-Italy game.

[Davey Boy 2.0]

in

[Davey Boy 2.0]

let's hope something good comes of this:

Franz Beckenbauer has called for a footballing summit to crack down on diving and cheating.

The former World Cup-winning captain and coach, and head of Germany's 2006 organising committee, said players are now taking advantage of referees' apparent willingness to award cautions for relatively minor offences.

Beckenbauer, known as the 'Kaiser', said: "The players are looking for an advantage and they attempt to exploit the situation.

"At the beginning of the tournament, I felt the referees were showing yellow cards too early for trivial offences but the players make it much harder by simulating, and by staying lying on the ground to interrupt play.

"Perhaps everyone - players, referees and administrators can get around a table after this to come up with a solution to put an end to this kind of unfortunate incidents.

"Perhaps there could be a compromise where referees are more generous."

Beckenbauer also wants the rules changed so that any player who tries to get another player booked or sent off by waving an imaginary card at a match official is himself cautioned.

"This is unsporting and unfair," said Beckenbauer.

"I think that whoever asks a referee to give a yellow or red card to another player should get the card himself."

[d_rawk]

"The former World Cup-winning captain and coach, and head of Germany's 2006 organising committee, said players are now taking advantage of referees' apparent willingness to award cautions for relatively minor offences."

[Booche]

'I was a diver,' FIFA boss admits

(CNN) -- The head of football's world governing body has admitted diving in order to penalize opponents during his career as a player.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter told CNN that when he played football in the top amateur league in his native Switzerland, he would often fall over in an effort to win free kicks.

"I was not a perfect player, I have to say, being a striker," Blatter told CNN.

"A striker cannot be a perfect player. I also argued with the referee but I tried to argue in a polite manner, but I tried also to get some advantages by jockeying with a player and then falling down by saying 'but he touched me.' And in fact it was not that. I did it."

FIFA issued instructions to referees prior to the World Cup encouraging them to clamp down on diving and gamesmanship by cautioning offenders, with Blatter saying in a statement that it was important for players to set a "positive example" as role models.

However, the tournament has been dogged by controversy over instances of alleged diving, with leading stars such as Thierry Henry of France and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo among those accused of having falling over too easily to win free kicks and penalties.

In other instances, referees seemed to indicate they believed a player had dived or feigned injury in an effort to gain an unfair advantage but failed to book the offender.

In a candid interview with CNN's Revealed program, which will air on the network this weekend, Blatter told CNN that he understood why players dived.

"I think that all players -- especially attacking players -- they do it because you go into the 18-yard area and then you lose the ball because somebody takes it away.

"You are frustrated, and then in the frustration you do two things, either you try to get the ball back and then you commit a foul or then you say 'but he touched me,' and then you fall down.

"I think this is a normal movement and I can understand the players acting like that. But now they are at the level of the World Cup and they are the professionals, so they should think about that, but it's in the game."

[Davey Boy 2.0]

Holy crap, I was sure that was going to be a News of the World type story!

why the hell is that idiot president of FIFA!?!?!?

bloody HELL!

[Booche]

It's no secret to even passer-by's of the game what is going on. Pick up any North American paper. Hopefully his own admission will help clean up the game, because as it stands now, its a complete farce.

[Davey Boy 2.0]

yeah it's true- you don't even have to know what offside is to pick up on the diving and play acting

[M.O.B.E]

anyone want to bet a show?? I'll even take Italy.

2 shows if you can pick the goal scorers? or winning goal scorer?

[Booche]

I think you should change that avatar man. Luckily, it doesnt pop up at work thanks to our firewall, but I dont think its very appropriate.

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[ollie]

'Zidane was goaded by racist slur'

[SmoothedShredder]

I just couldn't watch... the diving was ridiculous... what's the point of even playing, it's all just stupid penalty kicks and free kicks.

The only thing worth watching in soccer is the fans... fun to play, but the state of competition at the highest level is disgraceful.

[M.O.B.E]

what diving?? it was all headbutts yesterday

[SmoothedShredder]

As soon as a player closes his eye's, grabs his leg, and crys for Mommy or god or whatever, they should be sent off for a 'free' substitution and not allowed to return... it would of happened atleast 40 times in the six or seven games I actaully watched part of.

[badams]

I think if a player goes down they should be made to stay off the field for 5 minutes. I mean if your that hurt you need time to recover. I think we'd see less drama because noone would want to be responsible for putting their team a man down and chance a gaol.

[ollie]

I think you namby pamby's shouldn't be allowed to watch soccer.

This is awesome:

'get sent off like Zidane' game

Use your mouse and your mouse's left-click button.

[Booche]

Anyone up for going to the Gap Of Dunloe for some beers?

I am going to need some weaning time.

[M.O.B.E]

in the six or seven games I actaully watched part of.

[SmoothedShredder]

in the six or seven games I actaully watched part of.

Oooooh, you got me. Maybe I'll fuck off for another month until I finally feel welcome around here!

[Whitey]

Headbutts? They were too busy crying on the ground to get a headbutt. F*ck, soccer players are a bunch of pussies. They should be embarrassed by their constant falling to the ground, especially in the World Cup final. No wonder soccer is not popular in North America.

[M.O.B.E]

in the six or seven games I actaully watched part of.

Oooooh' date=' you got me. Maybe I'll fuck off for another month until I finally feel welcome around here!

[/quote']

I wasn't sayin that.

I think you namby pamby's shouldn't be allowed to watch soccer.

What I'm sayin is don't be swayed by the media, especially the likes of Vic Rauter and Gerry Dobson. Those 2 wouldn't know their ass from a hole in the ground.

There wasnt any more diving than there normally is, infact I think there was less. The problem here is that the announcers and analysts go on and on about it for 10 minutes. Also keep in mind that very few of these people have even played the game let alone at that level. See the Sepp Blatter remarks above and that says it all. FIFA is run just like the US govt.

[Booche]

The problem here is that the announcers and analysts go on and on about it for 10 minutes.

No. The problem is the diving and the idea that teams use it as a tactic. Its the fuggin' world stage and its getting harder and harder for me to watch. I really enjoyed this edition but it was kinda like eating cold pizza.

I had a really good laugh at this read:

A perfect ending to the so-called “Biggest Event In All of Sports.†Honestly, could it have gone any other way? 30 days of some 700 matches, about 20 goals total, countless orange wedges hammered, thousands of gallons of Capri Sun pounded, 200 injuries, about 4 of them legit and for what: 120 minutes of the final, plus some arbitrary additional time, and a shoot out to decide the champion!? That’s how you decide your once every 4 year, world wide debacle? With a shootout!? Why not just go Ro-sham-bo? Or pick straws?

I had to endure a month of this nonsense all so you guys could go penalty kicks to settle it? Sweet. Couldn’t we have just started there? Remind me to lob a phone call to Bud Selig today. When all 30 big league teams are done playing 162 each, let’s just bag the World Series. I mean, who in America wouldn’t be just as satisfied if instead of playing game 7 of the fall classic…we just decided to flip a coin to decide the champion. Nothing like wasting the whole world’s time for an entire month only to determine who the World Champion is by which goalie can guess right more times out of five than the other.

[Davey Boy 2.0]

yes well the whole facking world except sepp blatter knows there's plenty wrong with fitba and would love to see some dramatic changes by way of some pretty simple rule shifts. and yes it's completely fecking frustrating to know that the world champions cheated their way to the cup and by rights should never have been there.

let's pray to Gawd that someone like Beckenbauer lands the president's joba nd actually has the will to add retrospective suspensions for diving. it's unbelievable that the current powers that be in the game don't think it's a problem

cunts, the lot of them

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retrospective suspensions

how do those work?