Face it guys, FIFA hates us.

[Barkly St End]

Guys, I said in the other thread, there is no point getting emotionally invested in it, they will never allow the Socceroos to get that far.

It's all scripted from the start. Just like professional wrestling is.

Don't fall for it.

The more Australians come to understand this, the better off we'll all be.

 

[SaintsSeptember]

Nope, you are a joke. I watched the game at the Dorset Hotel with a couple of hundred other fans who agreed that it was a great game of football.

Must have been the booze and the altmosphere.

 

[AndSmithMustScore]

fixed up your post for you mate.

It's Association Football dunderhead.

 

[Barkly St End]

Yet there's morons like you spouting rubbish about Ghana walking all over Australia and us having no chance, what happened there mate?

Don't actually recall saying that Ghana would walk all over Australia.

But I did say that they were a young, exciting side, and that all Austalians should tune to watch an up and coming team that plays with a flair, has an attractive attacking game and plays with an inhibition that is all too rare at WC level.

 

[mantis]

Nope, you are a joke. I watched the game at the Dorset Hotel with a couple of hundred other fans who agreed that it was a great game of football.

My gawd, I just noticed you live in the same suburb as me.

You aren't one of the idiots who puts white pride stickers on all the bus stops are you? You come across as the type of idiot who would do that.

 

[stmookeyj]

They've been screwing over other nations too. Just ask the Americans who should have had a 3rd goal allowed in their last game.

 

[cartel]

I watched the game at the Dorset Hotel .

Classy Venue.

It was a good match though, very exciting.

 

[scotto_01]

They've been screwing over other nations too. Just ask the Americans who should have had a 3rd goal allowed in their last game.

so so true, that was just ludicrious, if anything call a penalty on slovenia.

the whole world cup has been a joke with these red card happy referees who want to steal the limelight. not sure on exact numbers, but surely the total of redcards must have already surpassed 2006?

 

[McCrann]

Correct. Just another irrelevant smaller nation making up the numbers. No more. No less.

That may be correct, but it has no standing in a match versus Ghana.

The Socceroos have a greater pedigree at Soccer than Ghana (3 World Cups for us, only 2 for Ghana). So, if anything, we should have been getting the "rub of the green" against Ghana as we're a more experienced Soccer nation.

But no, that's not how it went is it?

 

[Testekill]

They don't hate us, it's just they don't give a s**t one way or another.

We're inconsequential, nothing more and nothing less.

 

[Frankster177]

Ghana are known as the Brazilians of africa and have won the African nations cup. Skillful.

 

[mark73]

They've been screwing over other nations too. Just ask the Americans who should have had a 3rd goal allowed in their last game.

They actually did get the foul end of the stick. Disgraceful officiating.

 

[mark73]

Ghana are known as the Brazilians of africa and have won the African nations cup. Skillful.

I'm actually going to back you up on this occasion, I thought the Italian ref was pretty decent. I thought he did a pretty good job. You can't blame the ref's for players not taking their opportunities.

 

[afl_n00b]

Every world cup needs a feel good story, senegal, australia (last world cup) and its new zealands turn this world cup. Having an underdog get through pushes up interest in the respective nation and generally raises interest.

 

[Barkly St End]

Every world cup needs a feel good story, senegal, australia (last world cup) and its new zealands turn this world cup. Having an underdog get through pushes up interest in the respective nation and generally raises interest.

I think the case is a touch overstated in terms of including Australia as an example last time, but the general point is a reasonable one.

It has to be said, the FIFA bigwigs like a little romanticism for the feel good stories, but at the end of the day, they are motivated by hard cold cash, and that means the last four (and preferably, the last eight), being reserved for the big, well, 8.

Like 2002, I always thought that the exotic environs of Africa would mean some upsets, especially for some of the primadonna well fed Europeans, who never travel well beyond Europe anyway.

That's a tick for Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Mexico.

I would have expected at least one African nation to make the final 8, but Ghana now look like the main hope, and even they are only 50-50 to make it out of the group.

There will be a couple more upsets by the time the group stages are finished.

 

[Footy Smarts]

I think the case is a touch overstated in terms of including Australia as an example last time, but the general point is a reasonable one.

It has to be said, the FIFA bigwigs like a little romanticism for the feel good stories, but at the end of the day, they are motivated by hard cold cash, and that means the last four (and preferably, the last eight), being reserved for the big, well, 8.

Like 2002, I always thought that the exotic environs of Africa would mean some upsets, especially for some of the primadonna well fed Europeans, who never travel well beyond Europe anyway.

That's a tick for Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Mexico.

I would have expected at least one African nation to make the final 8, but Ghana now look like the main hope, and even they are only 50-50 to make it out of the group.

There will be a couple more upsets by the time the group stages are finished.

New Zealand must be more important to FIFA than Italy then after Smeltz's offside goal last night. After all it's only the important nations that get decisions go their way right?

 

[Barkly St End]

If you want to justify Italys free kick count of 35 to 11, good luck to you.

 

[Footy Smarts]

If you want to justify Italys free kick count of 35 to 11, good luck to you.

Haha. You actually think that shows that Italy were favoured? NZ's goal was offside. No doubt about that. Italy had the vast majority of possesion and for much of the game, NZ were willing to concede free kicks in not too dangerous a position rather than allowing Italy to move the ball forward.

I'm not going to debate that Italy certainly got a few cheap fouls in there but the big decisions clearly wend NZ's way. The other major one was Fallon being booked for leading with the elbow when going for a header, then within a couple of minutes doing the same thing again in a dangerous manner. Realistically that should've been a 2nd yellow card. As I said, the 2 big decisions that were incorrect and had a major influence on the match went New Zealand's way and 5-10 cheap free kicks to Italy in midfield wouldn't nearly make up for that.

 

[Barkly St End]

Haha. You actually think that shows that Italy were favoured? NZ's goal was offside. No doubt about that. Italy had the vast majority of possesion and for much of the game, NZ were willing to concede free kicks in not too dangerous a position rather than allowing Italy to move the ball forward.

I'm not going to debate that Italy certainly got a few cheap fouls in there but the big decisions clearly wend NZ's way. The other major one was Fallon being booked for leading with the elbow when going for a header, then within a couple of minutes doing the same thing again in a dangerous manner. Realistically that should've been a 2nd yellow card. As I said, the 2 big decisions that were incorrect and had a major influence on the match went New Zealand's way and 5-10 cheap free kicks to Italy in midfield wouldn't nearly make up for that.

Everyone knows that the Italians dropped to their knees at every opportunity, and that's how they got 35 to 11 free kicks.

They are an absolute disgrace, there's no other word to describe them.

Nelson has already publicly admitted that de Rossi laughed when he realised his con had worked (for the pen).

And guess who FIFA picked as man of the match? De Rossi!! It's an absolute farce!!

As for the supposed off-side - the FIFA edict is that the attacking team should always be favoured, so kudos to the linesman for allowing it - he's the first one the whole WC to have made the correct call.

 

[qldbluesman_43]

refs don't hate anyone we've just had 2 shitty calls against us. That happened to be against our two best attacking players.

When I was watching them in real time I thought crap that is red for both. Only after watching the replay in slow-mo can you see that Cahill pulled out of his tackle and Kewell didn't really move towards the ball.

 

[Footy Smarts]

Everyone knows that the Italians dropped to their knees at every opportunity, and that's how they got 35 to 11 free kicks.

They are an absolute disgrace, there's no other word to describe them.

Nelson has already publicly admitted that de Rossi laughed when he realised his con had worked (for the pen).

Yes the Italians are a disgrace for going down so blatantly. However most of those were still fouls. Just like a player in AFL throwing his head back when he's taken high, "making sure the umpire sees it" doesn't mean it's not a free kick. The vast majority of those were the correct decision. This includes the penalty which, despite the Italian acting it up was clearly the correct decision because his shirt was pulled.

As for the supposed off-side - the FIFA edict is that the attacking team should always be favoured, so kudos to the linesman for allowing it - he's the first one the whole WC to have made the correct call.

That's pretty funny. You think that blatant decisions should favour the attacking side? Even though he was 2-3 metres offside? Why should we even have an offside rule if the attacking team should always be favoured? I hope you umpire some cricket matches for me. When I'm cleaned bowled middle stump I'll stand my ground on the basis that you'll give me not out because of the "benefit of the doubt".

 

[AndSmithMustScore]

Yes the Italians are a disgrace for going down so blatantly. However most of those were still fouls. Just like a player in AFL throwing his head back when he's taken high, "making sure the umpire sees it" doesn't mean it's not a free kick. The vast majority of those were the correct decision. This includes the penalty which, despite the Italian acting it up was clearly the correct decision because his shirt was pulled.

The big difference is that a shirts been pulled in almost every other game while in the box and yet no penalties have been awarded.

So why give one now, maybe because of his dive to go along with the weak tug of his shirt?

If that's a penalty there should have been at least 30-40 penalties in this WC so far.

 

[sherb]

The big difference is that a shirts been pulled in almost every other game while in the box and yet no penalties have been awarded.

So why give one now, maybe because of his dive to go along with the weak tug of his shirt?

If that's a penalty there should have been at least 30-40 penalties in this WC so far.

I'd be interested to know if the penalty was paid by the referee for the jumper pull or because of De Rossi's massive dive.

If it were the former, well you are right, there should be a lot more penalties awarded for that offence in the box.

If it were the latter, it means that the penalty was paid because of cheating and that the referee was completely conned.

Either way, it doesn't paint things in the greatest of lights.

I watched that game last night and at times it was seriously more like slapstick comedy than international sport. The number of dives together with the over-acting was just ridiculous.

 

[the ranger]

The Italian team is pretty much the perfect example of why soccer will never be a major sport in Australia. Sickening to watch those nancy boys flop all over the place and even more sickening to see it rewarded.

 

[AndSmithMustScore]

I'd be interested to know if the penalty was paid by the referee for the jumper pull or because of De Rossi's massive dive.

If it were the former, well you are right, there should be a lot more penalties awarded for that offence in the box.

If it were the latter, it means that the penalty was paid because of cheating and that the referee was completely conned.

Either way, it doesn't paint things in the greatest of lights.

I watched that game last night and at times it was seriously more like slapstick comedy than international sport. The number of dives together with the over-acting was just ridiculous.

It's all politics mate.

Always has been, always will be driven by that.

We'll never get anywhere in the sport because we aren't part of any influential voting block.

The only thing that is certain is that there's plenty of back handers going around any time a vote needs to be held on something.

FIFA is as bent as the UN.