They both Obviously got cards for getting in each others face.

6/15/2010 10:24:11 AM

yeah, on second thought, maybe not a dive on that play but more of a preventative measure going airborne to avoid getting tackled.

6/15/2010 10:25:42 AM

Quote :

"bad yellow there, but that's the yellow he should have got for diving earlier so justice is served"

agreed

6/15/2010 10:25:45 AM

God this ref has been horrid.

6/15/2010 10:28:51 AM

the refs have been absolutely superb in all the other games I've seen, but this dude is blowing it.

6/15/2010 10:32:14 AM

Quote :

" HUGE CHESTMATCH CROWD "

6/15/2010 10:40:40 AM

Haha play by play guy is just killing Portugal right now. It really was the worst first half of any game so far.

[Edited on June 15, 2010 at 10:47 AM. Reason : f]

6/15/2010 10:46:50 AM

haha seriously, he just shit all over Portugal

6/15/2010 10:48:44 AM

lol, fuck yeah - "dreadfully negative display from portugal"

6/15/2010 10:50:27 AM

Portugal: I am disappoint.

6/15/2010 10:58:31 AM

Snoretugal

[Edited on June 15, 2010 at 11:01 AM. Reason : Snoretugal]

6/15/2010 11:01:06 AM

want a Cote D'Ivoire goal so bad to put the heat on Portugal

[Edited on June 15, 2010 at 11:04 AM. Reason : .]

6/15/2010 11:04:41 AM

lol

Quote :

"a save for the cameras"

6/15/2010 11:14:11 AM

second half miles better than the first

hopefully Drogba comes on for a Kiwi-style winner

6/15/2010 11:16:40 AM

Drogba time!

6/15/2010 11:20:36 AM

Drogba lives!

6/15/2010 11:21:36 AM

D
R
(double)Og
Ba
Lives!

6/15/2010 11:25:47 AM

lol what the fuck was that linesman looking at

6/15/2010 11:29:25 AM

what a gay fucking dive by Ronaldo

6/15/2010 11:29:25 AM

Liverpool has an opening? Well, You'll Never Walk Alone with Sven!!!

[Edited on June 15, 2010 at 11:32 AM. Reason : .]

6/15/2010 11:31:57 AM

that's some third world medical care right there

6/15/2010 11:34:32 AM

that exchange about CR's flopping skills was funny

6/15/2010 11:37:20 AM

Any contact. Even a gust of wind.

6/15/2010 11:38:15 AM

Good second half, but I can't help but think this would have been fantastic as a second or third game. Too much playing for a point in the first game this year so far for my liking...

[Edited on June 15, 2010 at 11:49 AM. Reason : good ending though]

6/15/2010 11:46:55 AM

Last set piece of the game

6/15/2010 11:49:33 AM

what the fuck kind of last play was that?

6/15/2010 11:50:40 AM

damn, I can't believe the ref didn't allow the corner kick to proceed before blowing his whistle to end the game.

6/15/2010 11:51:21 AM

i was thinking the same thing, why not just send the corner toward the goal and try to win the game? that was a waste

6/15/2010 11:51:43 AM

he did, they just took it short like bitches

6/15/2010 11:52:03 AM

Quote :

"i was thinking the same thing, why not just send the corner toward the goal and try to win the game? that was a waste"

+1

They should have been given 10 seconds.

6/15/2010 11:53:08 AM

they had the corner kick and he just short-passed it in, so the ref decided since they weren't going for an actual corner kick toward the goal for a header, and that extratime had passed, they weren't serious about scoring so he called the end of it [/soccer n00b's take]

6/15/2010 11:53:24 AM

I am now a huge Ian Darke fan.

6/15/2010 11:56:17 AM

^^ that's my 1337 soccer fan take too

They showed no urgency getting to the corner before the "injury" anyways - it looked like to me (and probably the official) that they were more interested in killing the game off.

^ haha yeah he was good

[Edited on June 15, 2010 at 11:57 AM. Reason : .]

6/15/2010 11:57:02 AM

How crazy would it be if North Korea won against Brazil today? I kinda want Brazil to just let them score a few times in the first half then come back and destroy in the second.

6/15/2010 12:03:04 PM

6/15/2010 12:03:55 PM

i got a hold of north korean newspaper, says here that dear leader scored 12 goals and snapped kaka over his knee like a twig

6/15/2010 12:06:44 PM

I was thinking to myself this morning, "Self, how the hell did North Korea qualify?"

Thank you Wikipedia: North Korea qualified by first beating Mongolia 9-2 on aggregate, next advancing in second place from a four team group, edging the mighty sides of Jordan and Turkmenistan, and finally advancing in second place from a five team group, besting Saudi Arabia, Iran, and UAB. North Korea almost exclusively won at home 1:0 or 2:0 and held on for a scoreless draw on the road.

My prediction - Brazil 7:0 North Korea

6/15/2010 12:21:57 PM

i got 6-0

6/15/2010 12:24:27 PM

^ Agreed. Brazil will be good to watch but this game is gonna suck.

in other news
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100615/ap_on_sp_so_ne/soc_wcup_vuvuzelas_drowned_out

I like the British bookmakers remarks.

[Edited on June 15, 2010 at 12:26 PM. Reason : ]

6/15/2010 12:25:08 PM

Question for people that know the rules...

The game is 90 minutes, they count up. The game doesn't end at 90:00 however. I'm guessing the ref adds extra time to account for not stopping the clock for out of bounds/in bounding scenarios. Do they actually keep track of that time and tack it on the end, or does the ref just make up some arbitrary number, or does the ref just end the game when they want to end the game.

It seems like there's room for abuse there. Say a ref bet on a game, his team has the ball, and the score is tied. What's to stop him from not blowing the whistle until his team has had a few chances to score? Or the opposite. The score is tied and the other team has the ball, what's to stop him from ending the game right then and there to prevent them from a scoring opportunity?

[Edited on June 15, 2010 at 1:38 PM. Reason : -]

6/15/2010 1:36:56 PM

I vote for a 3-0 score. This Brazil team is not as offensive in its style as the Brazil teams in the past. The fact that Dunga left Pato and Ronaldinho at home tells you how much he cares about offensive game. I wonder if Kaka gets injured, who's gonna fill in his spot?

6/15/2010 1:38:02 PM

there's always controversy about the added time, usually a ref will give around 3 minutes or less. it's rare for a ref to give 5 or more, only if there's injuries or a lot of cards. from time to time they will give way too many or to little extra time, and usually they get a lot of shit for it from the coaches and players

normally the ref will blow the whistle once the ball is out of a goal scoring opportunity ( i think). they won't blow their whistle when a team is taking a corner or around the box. it's pretty much up to the ref though, they can blow the whistle whenever they want.

6/15/2010 1:42:44 PM

Quote :

"Question for people that know the rules... The game is 90 minutes, they count up. The game doesn't end at 90:00 however. I'm guessing the ref adds extra time to account for not stopping the clock for out of bounds/in bounding scenarios. Do they actually keep track of that time and tack it on the end, or does the ref just make up some arbitrary number, or does the ref just end the game when they want to end the game. It seems like there's room for abuse there. Say a ref bet on a game, his team has the ball, and the score is tied. What's to stop him from not blowing the whistle until his team has had a chance to score a few times?"

There is estimated stoppage time accounted for during WC games for various listed stoppages that can interrupt the flow of the game. Close to the end of the half, the 4th official presents the amount of stoppage time that will be added onto the game(represented in whole minutes) using the digital screen they have on the sidelines for substitutions.

At this point, the center ref takes the game to 90+ the approved the stoppage using his judgment. If 4' was shown as the stoppage time, and at 94' the ball is getting kicked around at midfield without any real advances, the ref will blow the whistle. If a team is attacking in the offensive 1/3 with the time closing in on the 94' mark, the center ref will generally let play continue to see if anything comes of the play. At that point, when the play resolves itself (a goal, a change of position, ball cleared, goal kick, etc.) then the referee will signal full time. Corner kicks are also a judgment call but are generally allowed as they are considered an attacking opportunity.

Honestly, it is pretty hard to manipulate the stoppage time as the rule isn't as arbitrary as non soccer fans generally seem to think it is. If there was 4' scheduled and the ref is letting it run noticely past that, there is usually an obvious reason (additional injury or other stoppage during the regularly signaled stoppage time or as mentioned before, a significant scoring opportunity in an offensive 1/3 of the field).

As someone who reffed for about 10 years (of course just classic/select but the idea still applies) I can say that the stoppage time is not very hard to get used to when you are around the sport for awhile and controversy over timing is not that common.

[Edited on June 15, 2010 at 1:50 PM. Reason : ]

6/15/2010 1:44:00 PM

Ok, thanks. Clears that up.

6/15/2010 1:52:09 PM

np it is something that gets asked a lot

6/15/2010 1:54:19 PM

roughly, you can add :30 per substitution/goal + lost time for injuries that require stretcher and/or treatment

6/15/2010 1:57:51 PM

unless man u is losing at OT...then 8 minutes or so is added

6/15/2010 2:10:30 PM

filters in the broadcast?!?!

6/15/2010 2:20:28 PM

filters in the broadcast?!?!

Quote :

"Kim Jong-il thinks i'm at work"

lol

6/15/2010 2:25:02 PM

NK player crying in fear during anthem. (yes I know that's not why)

6/15/2010 2:27:47 PM