Refereeing at the World Cup

Apart from the vuvuzelas,  one thing that worries me about this world cup is the refereeing.

Already, some matches have been majorly affected by red cards.  There does not even seem to be any consistency. 
Australia have already fallen victim to two red cards to their most influential players, neither of which were justified.

I would go so far as to say that those red cards have cost Australia a place in the final 16.

Even as an England fan, I had to feel slight sympathy towards the German who was red carded after two yellows in the match with Serbia. (klose)    That referee was nuts, he was yellow carding every tackle.

Glen Johnson probably committed two early fouls yesterday the equal of klose's,  and fortunately the referee gave him some latitude.

Kaka's red card was quite laughable, but I guess not if you are a Brazil fan.

Another player got a harsh red card for a contested header in the penalty box, for a leading elbow, and quite frankly you could be sending defenders off every week in the prem league for the same thing, but most of these are accidental, nothing malicious.

The most bizarre booking I have seen was yesterday when a player went down on the edge of the box and received a yellow for simulation, and replays showed clearly he got a smack on the head which sent him over.


I have a nagging feeling that this world cup could well be won or lost by the actions of referees. Every team is only one incorrect red card decision away from a probable loss, and a loss is now pack your bags time.

I cant understand why the amnesty for cards has been extended to after the quarter-finals, and yet on the other hand some referees are handing out cards willy nilly. It does not make sense.

Even more concerning is the inconsistency aspect, some shocking studs up sliding challenges from behind have even escaped punishment altogether.

The problem for me isn't the refereeing, but FIFA's ignorance when it comes to technology for aid.

I have no qualms if they are strict, but all i want is some consistency. IT's been hopeless.

Some of the Ref's has been downright pathetic in the WC.

no handball? 



no penalty?

and the only african team which had a chance to go through goes through? doesn't surprise me any more, really, but this is ridiculous

Even as an England fan, I had to feel slight sympathy towards the German who was red carded after two yellows in the match with Serbia. (klose)    That referee was nuts, he was yellow carding every tackle.

klose deserved a second yellow card few minutes before that, he kicked the ball 5-6 seconds after the whistle, the referee decided to let him go away with it, but he didn't forget it i guess, it was a kind of compensation for not sending him off earlier

here we go again...............more pathetic refereeing

Lampard scores and the officials all had their eyes closed.

Argentina scores a goal  clearly offside,  but the officials mess it up again

This entire world cup has been a shambles caused by poor refereeing

This entire world cup has been a shambles caused by poor refereeing

To be fair.

In the case of both Argentina and Germany, it was hardly like the best team lost.

the refereeing has been bad but the australia's got what they deserve with there 2 red cards

refs are getting progressively worse as the wc is going on...

the refereeing has been bad but the australia's got what they deserve with there 2 red cards

1 red card was deserved, Cahill's was a total joke.

There were a lot of referee's mistakes during this competition, but Lamp's goal from England-Germany... Shocking...

1 red card was deserved, Cahill's was a total joke.

Kewell's red was certainly not deserved. Yes, it was a penalty, but a red it was not.

The rules are, for the last time:

If you stop a goal with your hand, you are given a red card whether it was deliberate or not. You are the last man and denying a clear goal scoring opportunity. If you handball on the line, you are red carded. End of!

They don't even need to install technology. 5 referees should do the job. But nooooooo, everything has to be the same. Less goals scored with hands or less goals from offside would take away all the joy from football. FIFA is a joke.

They don't even need to install technology. 5 referees should do the job. But nooooooo, everything has to be the same. Less goals scored with hands or less goals from offside would take away all the joy from football. FIFA is a joke.

5 referees don't do the job, they experimented with that in the Europa League this season, they still made mistakes, people will always make mistakes. Even 10 referees will not see everything without the help of technology.

And I heard it's not the FIFA wo is conservative on these issues, it's the other member of IFAB.

Kewell's to me was a red card he blantly stop the ball from going in the net

Kewell's red was certainly not deserved. Yes, it was a penalty, but a red it was not.

Sorry it was.

The ball was on target and would have hit the net if it had not hit Kewell's arm, therefore, goalscoring opportunity denied, so it is very much a red card.

Sorry it was.

The ball was on target and would have hit the net if it had not hit Kewell's arm, therefore, goalscoring opportunity denied, so it is very much a red card.

I require a slight confirmation here. Does it have to be intentional? Or even an unintentional hand which prevents a sure-shot deserves a red?

The rules are, for the last time:

If you stop a goal with your hand, you are given a red card whether it was deliberate or not. You are the last man and denying a clear goal scoring opportunity. If you handball on the line, you are red carded. End of!

My bad. Didn't read your earlier post.
Ok so. Then Kewell's sending off was right.
Still, refereeing has been shocking, no doubt. Just spoils the fun in the game many-a-times.

No doubt at all, mate. You just have to look at the stop/start nature of every game to realise it. The ref's blowing their whistle has killed the football.

I don't think the Refereeing has been to bad considering the Refs used. Two bad decisions yesterday but on the whole not to bad