Quote Originally Posted by frodbonzi View Post
I think you could look at EVERY penalty taken this world cup and see encroachment... usually refs don't call it unless it actually influences the outcome (like a rebound, etc)... terrible officiating at this world cup all around though... how about the English goal that didn't count over Germany... and the Argentina goal that was clearly offside against Mexico...

Or the US winning goal that was inexplicably whistled dead and disallowed...

American Football has a field that is a bit smaller than a soccer pitch... and has like 10 referees... why does FIFA insist on 1 ref and 2 linesmen?!?! They'll be looking into it I suspect after the World Cup is over.
Well, the encroachment did NOT interfere with the Xavi PK, so there goes your arguement there. BTW, that was a beautiful PK by Xavi, (the first one.) And in regards to the disallowed England goal, from what i understand, the forth official has a video screen in front of them, and he should have called it a goal. And do you realize HOW difficult a linesman's job is? they have to look at where the player is, and when the ball is kicked. It is a lot harder than it seems. I think that they should utilize some sort of goal line technology in order to prevent things such as the Lampard no goal from occurring, as well as Phantom fouls such as those that have happened on numerous occasions, and the offsides that were not called. I think that it is safe to say that FIFA has had terrible officiating consistently throughout the World Cup. Also, how did they fail to see the foul committed on Fabregas in the box following the save of Xavi's PK. But this is the game of Football. unfortunately, the refs are humans too, and humans make mistakes. Suck it up. Its part of the game. If you don't like it, don't follow it. (I am just stating my opinions on the matter, but fully understand that humans all make errors, and hence the game of football and the blown calls. Granted, these officials have miss a LOT of calls, but they are humans.)