Comments on: Valentin Ivanov Worse Than Graham Poll?

by: mark

Tue, 27 Jun 2006 12:52:16 +0000

Luis Figo is and always has been one of the biggest cheaters in the game. He has been doing it persistently firstly for Barcelona and then Real Madrid. I hope he retires soon. He was a good player but will never be remembered as a great because of his cheating.

by: Seb

Mon, 26 Jun 2006 17:21:02 +0000

FIFA’s refs are a shocking bunch of clowns….As a Gunner, I ain’t a big fan of Robben, but Valente threw a boot high into his chest IN THE AREA, and there was nary a card nor a penalty…the Russian psycho thought this was his showpiece….today, another fiasco with the Spanish cock giving away a really soft penalty to that diver Grosso. It seems to me that this is the same old shit with FIFA “setting” things up nicely for the usual suspects, eg Germany, Italy, Brazil, etc…..I’ll have a wager that the ref will try to destroy both France and Spain in the same manner as the Portugal-Holland game, so that FIFA’s pet Brazil will glide into the semis…..some things never change.

by: Wenger's Immortals

Mon, 26 Jun 2006 12:06:50 +0000

I don’t think anyone could be worse than Graham Poll!

by: The 49ers

Mon, 26 Jun 2006 11:03:34 +0000

Ah well, Deco’s out for the England game! I’ll get over it…

I think people hate the inconsistency of refereeing - Mishari is spot on when he says Heinze should have got a red card against Mexico. He made no attempt whatsoever to get the ball and scythed down the Mexican forward!

When you see a game like the Mexico/Argentina one and the Holland/Portugal one they were about the same in terms of tackles, petulance, etc but the card count was nothing but!

by: markT

Mon, 26 Jun 2006 06:35:40 +0000

However one of the reasons the game got so ugly was the ref’s failure to clearly explain what he wanted the dutch to do after a drop ball. That is what lead to Deco’s horror tackle (straight red deserved I agree) and tilted a tense game into an petulant, angry and violent one.

by: Harry Barracuda

Mon, 26 Jun 2006 06:28:48 +0000

The ref got it spot on. And if they ALL did that, we’d see a lot less of this girly diving, feigning injury, shirt pulling, time wasting and other cheating that we mainly see, let’s face it, from the latin sides.

The ref (unlike Poll) even made a note of who he’d booked and checked it before he waved the red.

We need more refs like that to stop the cheats!

I hope he referees Argentina Germany.

Cheers,
Harry

by: JT

Mon, 26 Jun 2006 00:48:06 +0000

The referee did not at any time during the game have control of the match and he was well over the top with the 16 yellow cards - I don’t think any game is that dirty!

Of course I don’t like players getting injured, etc but the best thing to do would have been from an early stage to give offending players a strict talking to so that they knew anything after that would be punished.

But instead of doing that he was far too eager to branish a card - instead of talking to the players. That’s part of the reason there were fights during the game, because the referee talk to the players.

Poor refereeing in my opinion.

by: Paul N

Sun, 25 Jun 2006 23:09:55 +0000

Mishari and James you are both right. Maybe he got a bit confused at the end of the match , maybe he didnt show some red cards when he should have. But im just scared to think what would have happend on the pitch if there was one of those referees we saw in the other games . Bloodshed? More Injuries? Wouldnt be suprised if a regular fight broke out… Respect for the ref.

by: Mishari

Sun, 25 Jun 2006 22:47:14 +0000

I agree with james, it’s not the referee’s fault that he gave out 16 yellows, or the 4 reds, thought the first dutch red might have been harsh. Costinha’s red was deserved, as was van bronkhorst’s, deco should have recieved a straight red for the lunge on Hetinga, but got what he deserved for the annoying habit of players picking up the ball and walking away with it, to just throw it back in the air, what use does it make, i hate it, and i’m glad the ref had the guts to call him on it, though i thought the dutch player should’ve gotten a yellow as well, for pushing Deco.

A ref that brandishes 16 yellows might have had a better game than one that’s shown none. Atleast he was consistent, and the players should be smart enough to adjust to that. He’s calling the game very tightly and showing yellow cards for things that other ref’s might not, well then, maybe it’s a good idea not to play goalie on the halfway line, not to lunge at someone from behind or elbow a player as he’s trying to get past you.

If you’re looking at a bad ref, look no further than yesterday’s referee for argentina Vs Mexico, a clear red for heinze, only to recieve a yellow, persistent and hard fouling by the argie’s towards the end, with nothing shown, only for the mexican players to be shown yellows for tackle’s that most people’s 90 year old grandparents got jump straight back up from.

Inconsistent Refereeing is much more annoying and unfair than a referee that’s too harsh or too lenient.

by: James

Sun, 25 Jun 2006 22:31:32 +0000

I thought the ref did ok, it’s about time persistent cheating was clamped down on - the game is called football, not diveball, shirtpull, or foulball. A few of his decisions were questionable towards the end, but out of the 16 yellows Ivanov dished out, only 2 or 3 were questionable.

It’s about time players acted more responsibly and stopped making referees lives a nightmare.