Quote:
Originally Posted by ColdCuts
Alrighty then. How about Brazil's EGREGIOUS dive by Fred, for which the ref awarded a penalty, which led to the game winning goal! 
Nothing burns me up like diving. Especially when it's committed by a Brazilian! I say this because Brazil has the talent, the history, and the home field advantage, and should manage a win by playing a clean game. And yet this is what they give us?! Really disappointing. The most offensive part, is that after the penalty was converted, Fred looked to the sky and pointed to the heavens as if God himself had directed him to cheat. 
I don't blame the ref for getting it wrong. Refereeing is one of the toughest, most thankless jobs around. I blame Fred for selling the ref a lie. I wish tapes would be reviewed and offenders would be fined, heavily. Diving discredits the player, the team, and the game I hold so dear.  |
Brazil is far from alone in diving (selling lies) and I agree with your assessment as to the difficulty of being a referee. But I do think he has some accountability there. If it was borderline, then I agree. But this one being blatant , some of the blame IS on the referees's shoulders. And, trust me, having been a soccer referee for many years, I usually tend to give the officials the benefit of the doubt. Not this time.
I hope to get home from work soon and watch as much of the three matches from today as I possibly can.