06-20-2010, 05:24 PM
I don't think instant replay would be of too much help in this sport. Controversial foul calls like the one at the end of the U.S. match wouldn't be subject to review. The only place I can see that it would help pretty frequently would be offside calls, but then what? If the play was stopped and the player actually was level with the defense, it's too late to fix it. If you give a free kick to the team at the position, it will be a much better or much worse scoring chance than the original play. And with the never stopping game clock, a minute or two of delay would be something you have to account for.
The really annoying thing to me about the call against the U.S. is that the referee doesn't tell the players what the nature of the call was. He blows the whistle, gives the ball to the other team, and when they ask what was the foul he won't answer. I don't know if that's a language barrier issue, but it's important in sports that the participants know why they are being penalized.
I guess the French are now spitting in a lot of people's general direction. Only one point in two matches and on the brink of elimination. ESPN a little bit ago had a phone conference with a French reporter, and asked why this player was being sent off the team. The reporter responded with a direct quote of what the player said to his coach. You can't say that on live television in the U.S.! The ESPN anchor had to apologize at the end of the segment. Somehow the fact that it is the French makes the whole incident really funny.
The really annoying thing to me about the call against the U.S. is that the referee doesn't tell the players what the nature of the call was. He blows the whistle, gives the ball to the other team, and when they ask what was the foul he won't answer. I don't know if that's a language barrier issue, but it's important in sports that the participants know why they are being penalized.
I guess the French are now spitting in a lot of people's general direction. Only one point in two matches and on the brink of elimination. ESPN a little bit ago had a phone conference with a French reporter, and asked why this player was being sent off the team. The reporter responded with a direct quote of what the player said to his coach. You can't say that on live television in the U.S.! The ESPN anchor had to apologize at the end of the segment. Somehow the fact that it is the French makes the whole incident really funny.