*FAN SUBMISSION by Leon Elliott of Dorset, England. Follow him on Twitter @leon_elliott.*
Courtesy: BBC
If one disallowed goal in 2010 led to the biggest innovation in the game since yellow cards, then what we have seen in the opening week of the World Cup this year has the potential to spark even more sizeable commotions. But whilst Frank Lampard’s wrongly dismissed effort could be blamed solely on the absence of goal-line technology, this time around there will be no escape for FIFA; with four wrongly denied goals in only 9 games.
Amidst the whirlwind of controversy that surrounded Brazil going into the opening match, FIFA would have been pleasantly surprised by the optimistic start of the tournament. In a nation that positions football as mightier than the Lord, the fierce protests and tales of corruption that had circulated the news for the weeks on end were silenced in the Maracana. 63,000 fans had travelled to Sao Paulo for this game, and there was never any chance that politics were to be any sort of obstacle for the football.
Eleven minutes in, and a Marcelo own goal later, signs emerged that the calm before the storm may have been coming to an end. Brazil’s preparations for this day had been 50 years in the waiting, and in a moment the nation’s volatile state, and ferocious anticipation and tremendous expectation threaten to collapse back on itself.
With Christ the Redeemer visible over the top of the roof of the Maracana, however, it was time for some Divine Intervention.
The home nation celebrated a 3-1 victory, yet whilst Brazil partied, for some the game would leave a bitter taste in the mouth. Before his emphatic brace Neymar was lucky not to see red for an early elbow, and no matter what Croatia did, it seemed they could not get any satisfaction. Referee Yuichi Nishimura, beneath the roar of an authoritative Brazilian crowd, flagged Croatia 21 times in a highly controversial 90 minutes. In a game where Brazil needed the perfect start, a seemingly blatant Fred dive was awarded with a penalty to send Brazil 2-1 leaders, and then a late prospective Croatian equaliser was dismissed with little cause at all. FIFA were in need of a creaseless start to hush accusations, and a celebrative victory would have equally raised spirits for Brazil, so you can’t help but question the result. From the own goal onwards Nishimura seemed intent on giving Brazil everything that was needed for the fairytale beginning, but this – for the neutral – discoloured what should have been a historic result. In hindsight, the game looked almost scripted.
I may be naive and optimistic in hoping this is far removed from any sort of match-fixing or corruption, but regardless this match was not the only one to be considerably poorly officiated. The goal disallowed by Nishimura was the first of 6 so far in the tournament, and the first of 4 to have been wrongly adjudicated. Goal line technology may have almost banished any controversy over the crossing of the line, but 7 of the 8 disallowed have been ruled out due to offside. The offside decision has never been one of serenity and straightforwardness, but rather than have the expected result of alleviating pressure from linesman and officials, in the games HawkEye has been present we have seen a drastic increase in the number of fatally incorrect linesman decisions. In Mexico’s Group A clash with Cameroon, Giovanni Dos Santos had two goal disallowed for offside. Not only were both decisions wrong, but – like Croatia’s goal would have put them level in a hugely important game – a brace would have seen Dos Santos go top of the goal-scorers standings and gift Mexico with an invaluable goal difference. This highlights the importance of getting it right at such a high level. But the problem didn’t just thrive in Group A, and further linesman failures were prevalent in the game between Ecuador and Switzerland where Josip Drmic was flagged despite being clearly onside in the 71st minute. Like Mexico, Switzerland were able to recover and score a winning goal in the later stages of the game, but it cannot be long until a team is denied a goal, and doesn’t have such luck.
The goal-line technology debate first peaked when England had their would-be equaliser ruled out against Germany in the Knock Out Stages of 2010, and this is a reminder of how if the levels of officiating aren’t improved imminently, then a result – with rivalry and meaning and pride hanging on it – could been denied. Luckily for FIFA, so far none of the decisions have impacted the game as steal a victory, but this doesn’t not mean that the levels of officiating so far have been anywhere near acceptable for a major tournament. With goal-line technology implemented idealistically to end all controversy over decisions and results, it looks as if they are no closer to reaching their goal. This may be a result of poor officiating standards, and it may be the pressure – and heat – of operating in Brazil, but on such a special occasion this is even more of a reason for them to improve their game. From a grass roots level upwards finding quality referees is a challenge, and this is something that, if the events of this week have any repercussions in the future, will need to be acted upon. Perhaps the pressure we put on officials is a factor that has lead to this lack of consistent performers at the top level, but you can’t tame pressure. Better foundation for referees is already in desperate need from the troughs to the peak of football, but the fact of the matter is that if an event on the same scale as Lampard decision happens in the coming weeks, then action from FIFA to improve the general standard of refereeing will be unavoidable. And with World Cup referees coming from across every footballing continent, only long term, universal action will eradicate the issues we are seeing.
Allegations of corruption will linger as long as the tournament lasts and will not helped by events like the Beckenbauer fiasco or the Nishimura game, but with 53 matches remaining it is time now for FIFA to really step up, retrieve the confidence of the fans, and ensure the rest of the tournament can be as successful as the games that have been officiated correctly. We’ve have seen more than a glimpse of a brilliant tournament so far; So please, Mr Blatter, leave the controversy until after the final. After all, if this continues – and the backlash is anything like the events that followed 2010 – FIFA will no doubt be forced into debating offside technology by 2017.
It shows that whilst they may have got the ‘perfect’ opener, they are still far from the perfect game.
