Welcome to my first football blog. I've been thinking about starting this for a while now (mainly due to Bradford's magical cup run) but particularly due to tonight's festivities. So without further ado, here we go...
In a game that Mourinho said 'the world will stop to watch' one man has indeed made the headlines for an unbelievable piece of play. Unfortunately this game will be remembered for all the wrong reasons after Nani was sent off for a high kick into Arbeloa's midriff. Now I won't spend too long on this as most people will have their opinions but mine is this. Not a red card. For me he only has eyes for the ball, there isn't even a glance towards the man, he has no idea it was coming. I don't think anyone in the ground or anywhere else for that matter could honestly say they expected the red to come out of the referees pocket.So this brings me to my main point, where is technology in football? Fifa recently confirmed that they will be using goal-line technology at the next World Cup, but is this good enough? I'd like for a moment to consider football's weird ball game cousin, rugby. I'm not a massive fan of rugby but their whole system of refereeing is so much better than football. I'm not a regular rugby viewer but from what I can tell the only decisions that are disputed very rarely end in a unanimous decision opposite to that made by the officials. In a generation where there are hundreds of cameras at football matches why can't we stop for 30 seconds to make sure of a decision.
The referee tonight was stood a full 30 yards away from Nani tonight, with Nani's back facing him. I'm not even sure he would have seen the moment of contact. A video referee would have seen from the first replay that Nani had no intention to go for anything but the ball and that would have saved all the neutrals from watching half an hour of the inevitable Madrid win, and from us having to listen to United fans moan about their bad luck for 6 months!
Just a quick side note while I'm slating officials. The 5th and 6th officials that stand by the net? What on Earth do they do? In theory check to see if the ball has crossed the line. Well watch Welbeck's shot in the first half. Ok, he was offside and it wouldn't have counted but watch the official behind the goal. He doesn't even move. If the ball had gone over the line he wouldn't have been able to tell any more than the linesman would have.
Now, moving on. I love Mourinho, I think he's excellent, a bit arrogant, yes, but he's such a showman. I'd like to think he was genuinely sorry for Man U tonight (maybe because he's trying to get the job?) but still, it was nice for him to say that Man U were the better team, which they were before the sending off. It doesn't matter after that. Every team in the Champions League should be better than their opponent with an extra man.
And finally, Roy Keane. He is a very odd pundit. Sometimes I like him and sometimes I wonder what he's been sniffing in the morning. Ex-Manchester United and yet he agrees with the referee about tonight's decision and seems to be shouting everyone else down who disagreed. Odd for a man who probably got sent off for similar things and didn't particularly agree with the referee at the time. I think Mourinho was right to say Man U were the better team but Roy disagrees. I'm not sure what he was watching, or if he is taking the last half an hour into account but I think he's well wide of the mark.
Anyway, I shall end my rant for tonight. I was looking forward to a heavyweight contest between two massive European clubs and that's what I got until the red card. I guess it serves me right for not tuning into Radio Stoke to listen to Bradford earn a hard-fought 0-0 draw at Port Vale...
No comments:
Post a Comment