World Cup – Quel dommage! by David Rawnsley
Cornwall ON – Did the world want South Africa to win or France to lose? It is difficult to say but the outcome was always in the cards the moment that France went down to 10 men. Already a goal behind, the mountain they had set themselves to climb was high and now it got even higher. Could South Africa defy the odds and qualify for the last 16? – A long shot that did not happen.
France, however, have been in total disarray and it was evident from their body language that they did not anticipate being able to win by a margin big enough to get them through, so this game was in some ways a formality. Such a proud nation, let down by its players and coaches; on their way home at the earliest moment. Tomorrow, will another proud nation, England, join them on the sad flight north? As an ex-Brit, I hope not but I am far from confident at this moment.
And is there a reason for these poor performances? – is the buzzing getting under their skin, invading their focus, undermining their confidence? – Quite possibly. Or is it the world in general, unhappy with the events of recent years, unhappy with the performance of Europe as a whole. Neither Italy or Germany are out of the woods yet, they must both get at least a tie if they are to progress, for England it is win or bust, like turning up 16 at black-jack – hit or stand?
I am going to be very interested in tomorrow’s game and the team the manager picks. I hope he can find some passion it was desperately lacking in the first two games. Which ever way you may be sure I shall have an opinion on this one.
David Rawnsley is President of the Char Lan Minor Soccer Association as well as Executive Director of FOSS, Friends of SD&SG Soccer and a district Referee, as well as co-founder of Char-Lan Women’s Soccer.
Soccer is his Passion, and we’re hoping to get several reports from him during the 2010 Fifa World Cup!
David – I would appreciate an explanation of why a yellow card is handed out in certain situations and not others. It seems a bit confusing.
Crazy I felt it in Buffalo
Absolutely terrifying I felt it in burlington
Crazy I felt it in Pickering
Abbey what did you feel? Lucila ditto? Jeffrey what did you feel?
In response to Roger’s question about the Yellow Card. A referee has some discretion when it comes to this card, there is one offence called “unsporting conduct” and the referee is able to use this when, otherwise, a red card might have been called for. It is associated with the decision he must make as to whether the offence was deliberate or just wreckless. If the referee believes that a player deliberately did something that might result in the other player being hurt then he must issue a red card, otherwise he can resort to the yellow. As to when he does not issue a card at all, this is a decision he must make relative to how the game is going generally. Some referees give a yellow card at the earliest opportunity to show the teams they mean business. Others try to keep their cards in their pocket and let the game flow.
As you can see – not an exact science.