Ireland’s replay request cannot be granted for the good of the game

I had hoped I’d be able to discuss another topic in today’s blog, but the Ireland-France row seems to have taken another turn. I guess it’s only right for me to give my two penneth.

It would seem the Irish FA are not prepared to let the dust settle following Henry’s handball, and even the Irish government are getting involved in the argument. Now as much as I sympathise with them over the incident, and I agree that losing in that manner is a travesty, I think calling for a replay is somewhat ridiculous.

If FIFA were to agree to this request, the sport of football would be thrown into chaos, and that is something which cannot be allowed to happen. I also believe it is dangerous for politicians to start meddling in sport, which I’ll come on to later.

First thing for me to say here is I don’t blame the Irish FA for being angry. I can certainly understand them questioning the referee’s ability to officiate the game, but calling for a replay is taking things too far. And surely they know what the ramifications would be if their request is granted by FIFA. We’d have replays every week! Manchester United would never lose another game, as every time they do Fergie criticises the referee. Imagine if they had the power to call for a replay?

World football would go into meltdown if this precedent was set by FIFA, and it is naive in the extreme of the FAI to think FIFA will not consider the future if they agree to this request. And how many times has another nation been cheated out of a world cup, or European Championship spot? Indeed, England won the tournament in 1966 with a very fortuitous award from a certain Russian linesman. Then on the flip side, there was the ‘hand of God’ in 1986. If FIFA agree to the replay, how far back do we go? Do we just think of games this season, or do we look to replay every game since 1865? And what happens if the incident occurs in a match that is won 5-0? Does the right to request replays still stand? I appreciate I’m being facetious here, but quite frankly, I think the FAI are mentalists!

While the game is in the current state, the FAI should instead be taking this on the chin. Yes, call for increased technology, call for actions to be taken against the referee if they must, but the replay request MUST be denied. Incidentally, I thought the referee had a fantastic game, barring this one incident. The game was allowed to flow, he didn’t go overboard with yellow cards, and he saw through Anelka’s blatant attempt at diving. I think the real rage here should be towards the linesman, who had a clear view of Henry’s handball as well as the fact there were two French players offside when the ball was played.

I also can’t let the fact the Irish government joined in the call for a replay slide. As much as I can understand the frustration they may have felt as fans, the cynic in me believes there is only one true motivation for them adding their voice to the request: money. I truly believe that government should stay out of sport unless they are considering supporter well-being. This well-being can be either physical safety or financial well-being, ensuring sport remains affordable. However, this does not include heartbreak, like the way many irish fans will be feeling now.

It’s no coincidence that the Irish government would call for a replay in a time the world is in recession. After all, world cup qualification offers economies all over the world a boost, but when your nation is involved the boost is substantial. I really belive the Irish government have opened themselves up to criticism with this comment.

However, the French government commenting is more favourable. Indeed, French MP Christine Lagarde has offered her support to the replay call, which is commendable. Indeed, it would appear that 80% of the French population support the replay request. If the French Federation feel similar, the replay is feasible, but the approval will not come from FIFA themselves.

Indeed, I fully expect the French to move on and look forward to the World Cup. I’m sad to say this, but I hope the Irish can too.

Ireland’s heartache blasts open technology argument again

There was never going to be another blog topic today. After a fantastic example of international football in Paris, the ‘Hand of Henry’ broke Irish hearts and once again opened up the technology debate. As for Henry himself, I’ll come to that later.

Technology in football is very divisive amongst fans, players and managers. Indeed, my good friend Mr Mantle wrote just last week that he didn’t want to see video technology in the game as the drama of wrong decisions is part-and-parcel of this sport we love so much.

He makes a good point. Football is all about drama. Each match seems to contain a bucket load of the stuff, and none of us want to see that dwindle down. However, there comes a point where we have to act. As many people are so keen to point out now, football is a business these days, no longer just a game. It seems like every match played is worth ‘millions’ but last night was worth more than money; last night was about playing on the biggest stage in world sport.

For a match worth so much to be decided on a blatant act of cheating leaves a really bad taste in the mouth, and once again FIFA will be asked to assess the options open to them. There are a couple available.

The first is to introduce a video ref. The video ref could have the role of watching off-the-ball incidents, as well as being able to tell the referee when a player has dived or the ball has crossed the line. The positives of this are that there will now be no excuse for a referee to get a decision wrong. However, it will come at a cost to the flow of the game, and the drama will be gradually squeezed out.

The second option would be more referees. Now we’ve already seen the Europa League scenario, with an additional linesman behind each goal. However, the problem here is people don’t seem to be exactly sure what they’re meant to be doing. On top of this, we’ve seen some decisions slide in the competition, so it would seem that their vantage point may not be ideal. Perhaps standing behind the goal might make the job a little easier? However, I think the game may benefit more by having 2 linesman in each half. The three-dimensional view the officials will then have would certainly make a few decisions easier.

I have to say I agree with Ross, and I’m not really behind the call for a video ref. I think it will be too detrimental on the pace of the game, as what we want to see most of all is a game that’s allowed to flow. However, that does not mean I don’t want to embrace technology. As I stated on an earlier blog, I believe we should add a microchip to the ball, and a light behind the goal that turns on when the ball crosses the line. That is one decision referees clearly need taking out their hands, and I’m certain that is help they would appreciate. However, it also keeps the drama in the rest of the game.

I would also then introduce two more linesmen.

But the second part of this blog is reserved for cheating, and today it is Thierry Henry who deserves a special mention.

I don’t know about you, but that is about as blatant a handball as I’ve ever seen. After the match, he even had the audacity to say it wasn’t deliberate. I’m sorry, if that wasn’t deliberate I’m an Argentine and my name is ‘Juan’. And once again, the referee is getting abuse for not spotting it. Henry’s ‘I’m not the referee, it is not my job to spot it’ attitude really sticks in the throat. No Thierry, it’s not your job to referee the game, but it’s also not your job to handle the ball and score from it, but you did that OK didn’t you?

Of course, we may very well have been having another debate today. ‘Le Sulk’ Anelka could also have been responsible for cheating the Irish out of a World Cup spot if his blatant dive had been interpreted differently by the referee. Now this was even worse than Henry in my opinion. At least handball is ‘instinctual’, rather than a pre-meditated attempt at cheating. However, Anelka should be held-to-rights over his Tom Daley impression.

And just to finish this off, I wonder what devoted Frenchman and UEFA President Michel Platini made of last night’s action? After all, he’s been as quiet as it gets today. I wonder if the same would be said had a similar incident occurred against the French yesterday?

Just a thought…

Ireland the victims of FIFA favouritism

Oh how the sport’s governing bodies get on my nerves. First, we see UEFA backing down to the big clubs in the diving furore, and now it’s FIFA’s turn.

All the way through the World Cup qualifying, we were told that the draw to the play offs would be unseeded, an old fashioned winner-takes-all draw with no benefits to anybody. Now, FIFA notice that Portugal, France and Russia have missed out on first place in their groups so they move the goalposts.

What happens? The Irish get the most difficult available task of course: the French. Obviously, Ireland could have drawn France anyway but there was an air of inevitability about the draw being made from the moment Sepp Blatter made his seeding announcement.

There were two arguments given by FIFA as to why they took this decision. The first is a footballing reason. Blatter claimed a World Cup could not be the same without the ‘big guns’ of World football. Maybe not, but if the ‘big guns’ aren’t good enough to qualify that’s just hard cheese isn’t it? It’s not like the goal posts are moved so that Northern Ireland, Wales or the Faroes have a better chance, why should things change for Portugal?

The second idea is that it was a purely commercial decision. This theory seems to think that for some reason, sponsors will pull out without the likes of Ronaldo and co in the competition. Yeah right. This is the biggest tournament in the world’s most popular game. If one sponsor wants to pull out, let them. There will be about 20 others willing to take their place.

Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni was quick in his condemnation for Blatter’s idea, urging him to reassess his priorities or face the ‘death of football’. Ireland keeper Given also criticised the plan, calling it ‘disgusting’. In a withering attack, Given raged at the timing of Blatter’s announcement, coming with just two games remaining in the qualifying stage.

“There are people high up in delegations, and maybe their countries need a hand to qualify. The rules should be laid out clearly before any ball is kicked and then there’s no dark cloud or whatever. It’s ridiculous how they can make a decision now when some of the big-name nations are maybe struggling to qualify. It’s totally unfair on the smaller nations. It’s pretty disgusting, to be honest. To change it at this stage is beyond belief. It’s crazy and I don’t know how they have got away with it or how the smaller nations like ourselves haven’t put up a bigger fight. All the nations should try to kick up a fuss, not just us, because I don’t believe it’s right.”

And of course, he’s right. For too long now have football draws favoured big nations, and big clubs. The Champions League, the greatest club tournament on Earth, is now also the most boring tournament on Earth as the last 8 (or even the last 4) is painfully predictable.

It’s time for a shake up. If you weren’t good enough to qualify for a major competition by winning your group, then the back door should be closed until you unlock it yourself. And for the sake of the game, Blatter must be made to see this. He’s announced he’s running for a fourth term in 2011, but federations should refuse to nominate him until he understands this fundamental error in his leadership.

And as for the Champions League, all seedings should be thrown out the window, along with country protection. Can you imagine a group featuring Manchester United, Liverpool, Real Madrid and Barcelona? Now THAT’S European football.

As always, your comments are greatly appreciated.