Originally posted by: ZionFirst of all, why is it that every single player that falls down has to pretend his leg is broken or something? I've seen more Oscar-winning performances in the last week that at the last Academy Awards. Do the refs really call fouls depending on how bad the player on the ground rolls and moans? Most of the time the pain is real - these players don't wear helmets and shoulder pads. Dwight Yorke stopped a shot with his balls on Thursday, there's no way you could say that his agony was an act. (Why do we find it amusing when someone else gets hit in the balls?)
Sometimes however the delay is tactical, to give team-mates the chance to take on water. (There are no time-outs for commercials in this game.)
Then there was the famous incident where a Birmingham City player broke his leg in a tackle, thought it was just a dead leg, and tried to "run it off".
Originally posted by: Zion
Seriously, taking dives like that just seems pathetic and cowardly in the eyes of this American and many more like me. In fact, I was watching the Stanley Cup finals last night, and a guy got a penalty just for taking a dive. What a difference a rule like that would make in the World Cup.... Taking dives to gain a penalty or free kick is blatant cheating, and it is a bookable offence. The Germans used to be notorious for it. It was disappointing to see Gerrard take a dive in England's friendly against Hungary, but at least Lampard missed the penalty. England have won the Fair Play award at previous world cups and our players shouldn't be lowering themselves to cheating.
Originally posted by: Zion
Secondly, what was up with the officiating in that USA-Italy game?
Didn't see it, but by all accounts it was a bit of a farce.
Originally posted by: ZionIf FIFA really wants the United States to become more interested in soccer, and you know they do because of all the money and exposure they would receive, they're going to have to do a lot better than that.
I'd give up on the States, you have your own TV entertainment... sorry, "sports", and trying to promote football over there is a lost cause.