As a newly-minted soccer ref myself—OK I haven’t actually ref’d a game, but I own the uniform—I feel well-qualified to speak on this subject. Given the status of the World Cup, and all the hoops the refs jump through to qualify for it, I expected better. The invisible foul that nullified Maurice Edu’s goal in USA v Slovenia, Tevez’s offside goal in Argentina v Mexico, and Frank Lampard’s obvious goal (except to the ref) in England v Germany stand out among the officiating screw-ups. Oh… let’s not forget Luis Fabiano’s double handball goal against Ivory Coast, unquestionably the most technically skillful and sublime non-goal of the tournament.
I watch my share of professional soccer. I can’t recall officiating errors as egregious and numerous in a similar period of European league play. This makes me think that World Cup refs as a group may have the credentials but not the requisite “big game” experience. Kouman Coulibaly, the ref who negated Edu’s goal, is a Malian bank auditor by day. With all due respect to Mali and other small nations of the world, is Mali’s professional soccer league, where Coulibaly earned his referee stripes, the logical proving ground for a World Cup ref?
If TV’s talking heads are correct, part of the officiating problem lies with FIFA’s boss, Sepp Blatter, who has, to date, resisted the use of either extra refs or goal-line technology. Apparently Blatter believes such changes would upset the natural purity and flow of the game and otherwise cause a great disturbance in the Force. He also thinks some controversy is “good” for the game. Given his recent statements Blatter may be relaxing his stance on this subject. I guess he’s taking a lot of heat.
Much is made of the low scoring nature of professional soccer. While I’m not one who thinks low scoring equals boring, I assert that a low scoring sport elevates the importance of officiating. A bad call in football (American) may result in a touchdown, but unless it occurs in the final minutes of the game, it's unlikely to change the way either team plays the game. In soccer, however, going down a goal often forces the losing team to adopt a more attacking style, which conversely makes it more likely to be scored upon.
Personally I’m willing to sacrifice a little natural purity and flow in a big stakes match if it means the right team wins.
