PromoTheRobot Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 At the risk of fans of the "beautiful game," and as much as I enjoy watching the World Cup, some of the ways games are officiated truly irk me and I wonder how fans would feel if similar rules existed in, say, the NFL? Running time and stoppage time: Imagine if NFL officials decided when games would end? A team could be driving for the win and an official could end the game just before you score, or let the clock run until a team scores. Penalties in the red zone: Imagine is instead of yards, the penalty was giving a RB the ball at the two yard and you only had one tackler to stop him from crossing the goal line? Red cards: Making teams play short-handed the entire game for a roughing the QB call. Having just one referee officiate the entire game: That boggles my mind. Am I being silly?
dhg Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 At the risk of fans of the "beautiful game," and as much as I enjoy watching the World Cup, some of the ways games are officiated truly irk me and I wonder how fans would feel if similar rules existed in, say, the NFL? Running time and stoppage time: Imagine if NFL officials decided when games would end? A team could be driving for the win and an official could end the game just before you score, or let the clock run until a team scores. Penalties in the red zone: Imagine is instead of yards, the penalty was giving a RB the ball at the two yard and you only had one tackler to stop him from crossing the goal line? Red cards: Making teams play short-handed the entire game for a roughing the QB call. Having just one referee officiate the entire game: That boggles my mind. Am I being silly? The bolded part is the one that I never could understand. Why don't they just stop the clock during play, then start up again instead of adding the extra minutes?
The Wiz Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 Imagine if the ball couldn't be thrown after a receiver had passed the last defender and would be offsides.
xsoldier54 Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 At the risk of fans of the "beautiful game," and as much as I enjoy watching the World Cup, some of the ways games are officiated truly irk me and I wonder how fans would feel if similar rules existed in, say, the NFL? Running time and stoppage time: Imagine if NFL officials decided when games would end? A team could be driving for the win and an official could end the game just before you score, or let the clock run until a team scores. Penalties in the red zone: Imagine is instead of yards, the penalty was giving a RB the ball at the two yard and you only had one tackler to stop him from crossing the goal line? Red cards: Making teams play short-handed the entire game for a roughing the QB call. Having just one referee officiate the entire game: That boggles my mind. Am I being silly? So as a fan of both "beautiful games" let me try to address each of your points individually. Running time and stoppage time: Imagine if NFL officials decided when games would end? A team could be driving for the win and an official could end the game just before you score, or let the clock run until a team scores. Actually the referee tells how much stoppage time there will be at the end of regulation. Both teams should know and there should be a sense of urgency. And when the stoppage time is over, the game ends, regardless if a team is driving for a score or not, just like when the regular clock runs out. Penalties in the red zone: Imagine is instead of yards, the penalty was giving a RB the ball at the two yard and you only had one tackler to stop him from crossing the goal line? This could be modified for American football and could be administered like the two point conversion for example. Give them one extra play in addition to the yardage. Red cards: Making teams play short-handed the entire game for a roughing the QB call. I personally don't see anything wrong with making them play a man short for a flagrant foul. Could be applied the same way for American football. Having just one referee officiate the entire game: That boggles my mind. Actually there are two assistant referees. When they put their flag up, it indicates that they have seen a foul. The center referee relies heavily upon the two assistant referees.
PromoTheRobot Posted June 16, 2014 Author Posted June 16, 2014 So as a fan of both "beautiful games" let me try to address each of your points individually. Running time and stoppage time: Imagine if NFL officials decided when games would end? A team could be driving for the win and an official could end the game just before you score, or let the clock run until a team scores. Actually the referee tells how much stoppage time there will be at the end of regulation. Both teams should know and there should be a sense of urgency. And when the stoppage time is over, the game ends, regardless if a team is driving for a score or not, just like when the regular clock runs out. Penalties in the red zone: Imagine is instead of yards, the penalty was giving a RB the ball at the two yard and you only had one tackler to stop him from crossing the goal line? This could be modified for American football and could be administered like the two point conversion for example. Give them one extra play in addition to the yardage. Red cards: Making teams play short-handed the entire game for a roughing the QB call. I personally don't see anything wrong with making them play a man short for a flagrant foul. Could be applied the same way for American football. Having just one referee officiate the entire game: That boggles my mind. Actually there are two assistant referees. When they put their flag up, it indicates that they have seen a foul. The center referee relies heavily upon the two assistant referees. So stoppage time end exactly when the ref says so? Uh, no. I ran a stop watch and stop time always goes longer than they say, sometimes by more than a minute.
xsoldier54 Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 Soccer sucks. Amen. Yes, it sucks so bad that it is the most popular game in the world. No other sport is even a close second. And American football? Please. The rest of the world laughs at our game. The worst offense of all is calling it football. It isn't football. I love both the NFL as well as college "football", but there really is no comparison. They are two unique and completely different games. I for one respect the athletes that play both games at such a high level. Amen and allelujah..
xsoldier54 Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 So stoppage time end exactly when the ref says so? Uh, no. I ran a stop watch and stop time always goes longer than they say, sometimes by more than a minute. This according to The Football Bible "The FIFA Laws of the Game states that an allowance period may be added to make up for lost time due to the following reasons: substitution of players, stoppage of play because of a serious injury, transport of injured players off the field, and deliberate stalling by a team. Additional minutes may also be added to regulation period to allow a penalty kick to be taken. An official decides how long a half must extend. It is the fourth referee who typically determines how much injury time should be added to a game. Fourth referees usually have two watches, one which he stops every time there is a stoppage in play (such as injuries, substitutes, and goal celebrations) and another one which he runs to count the time spent in each stop. Most league laws require an additional thirty seconds for each substitution made by both teams. A minute or so before a half ends, the fourth referee raises an electronic board to inform players and officials how much time will be added. The typical length of an injury period is 3 minutes. Although the added minutes in a game is appropriately called stoppage time, it is often referred to as “injury time” because players getting injured in football is the most common cause for delay." Remember, there also may be stoppages of play during the stoppage time. This would account for the game not ending exactly at the time announced by the fourth referee.
jimmy10 Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 The way players take dives drives me nuts. At least the NHL enforces "embellishment" penalties. Also the fact that there is only one referee running up and down, they miss so many freaking calls. (Like Ireland getting screwed out of a WC berth in 2010 on a blatant French handball.) Yes, I know there are side judges, but they only call offsides and out of bounds.
PromoTheRobot Posted June 16, 2014 Author Posted June 16, 2014 This according to The Football Bible "The FIFA Laws of the Game states that an allowance period may be added to make up for lost time due to the following reasons: substitution of players, stoppage of play because of a serious injury, transport of injured players off the field, and deliberate stalling by a team. Additional minutes may also be added to regulation period to allow a penalty kick to be taken. An official decides how long a half must extend. It is the fourth referee who typically determines how much injury time should be added to a game. Fourth referees usually have two watches, one which he stops every time there is a stoppage in play (such as injuries, substitutes, and goal celebrations) and another one which he runs to count the time spent in each stop. Most league laws require an additional thirty seconds for each substitution made by both teams. A minute or so before a half ends, the fourth referee raises an electronic board to inform players and officials how much time will be added. The typical length of an injury period is 3 minutes. Although the added minutes in a game is appropriately called stoppage time, it is often referred to as “injury time” because players getting injured in football is the most common cause for delay." Remember, there also may be stoppages of play during the stoppage time. This would account for the game not ending exactly at the time announced by the fourth referee. Right. And that's fine because those are the rules of soccer. But you made my point. No one knows when a soccer game will end but the ref.
QB Bills Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 The injury time aspect isn't completely black and white. The referee won't stop the game if a team is just about to shoot it into an empty net to tie the game. Its more of a judgement call when the required time has passed. The next goal kick, or throw-in, or even clear into midfield brings about the close to a game.
bowery4 Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 It seems all sports have and need arbitrary rules, press is press. What would you argue about if the Cheaters* were penalized more and every one is happy. Imperfection and injustice make the world a beautiful place (and a shitload of money for people). BTW Soccer is okay but I can only assume the reason it is the "worlds" most popular sport is because it has some of the least expensive equipment.
Mark80 Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 At the risk of fans of the "beautiful game," and as much as I enjoy watching the World Cup, some of the ways games are officiated truly irk me and I wonder how fans would feel if similar rules existed in, say, the NFL? Running time and stoppage time: Imagine if NFL officials decided when games would end? A team could be driving for the win and an official could end the game just before you score, or let the clock run until a team scores. You forget the best part about this rule...it yields no commercials during play. Only pre game, half time and post game commercials. That is awesome in my opinion. Also, refs won't blow the whistle when someone is close to scoring, it's typically blown in the middle of the pitch when nothing it really happening. If a team is on the doorstop, the play will usually continue until the threat has past. Penalties in the red zone: Imagine is instead of yards, the penalty was giving a RB the ball at the two yard and you only had one tackler to stop him from crossing the goal line? These penalties are basically like getting a PI call in the end zone. Getting the ball on the one with a first down is just about as automatic as a penalty kick. Red cards: Making teams play short-handed the entire game for a roughing the QB penalty. You really have to try to get red carded. If you do something bad enough to warrant a red, you deserved to be banned. Having just one referee officiate the entire game: That boggles my mind. The other two judges and the fourth official are constantly in contact with the ref via headset. They have a lot of influence on calls. Am I being silly? Not silly, closed minded.
MikeSpeed Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 Yes, it sucks so bad that it is the most popular game in the world. No other sport is even a close second. And American football? Please. The rest of the world laughs at our game. The worst offense of all is calling it football. It isn't football. I love both the NFL as well as college "football", but there really is no comparison. They are two unique and completely different games. I for one respect the athletes that play both games at such a high level. Amen and allelujah. . I happen to think soccer is as boring as watching paint dry. A game averages only 26 shots on goal for both teams. That's a shot every 3.46 minutes. So for 3-1/5 minutes all you see are guys kicking a ball around and very little action. Just not my cup of tea. As for the name football used to describe American football, any ball game that was not played on horseback is referred to as football. I don't know how to create a link but here is a website that describes the reasoning... http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/06/the-origin-of-the-word-soccer/
Rubes Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 Right. And that's fine because those are the rules of soccer. But you made my point. No one knows when a soccer game will end but the ref. This has always been my #1 thing about soccer. Plus, you should never trust a game where the clock counts up instead of down.
Steve in Carolina Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 Hurry up training camp. Is there anything else to talk about besides this boooooooooooooooring non scoring game called soccer sucker
respk Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 Even watching my own kids play it was boring. I don't understand the wild cheering that occurs when the ball moves the length of the field and then is launched out of bounds nearly missing the goal by what appears to be 20 yards or more. I just can't get into watching it. I will say though that it was a totally different experience playing it. I got to play a handful of games when the local town team was short players and looking for any decent athlete to play. I made two good plays, had what I would call an assist, made so many plays that would be described as "Why in the world did he do that?" and had a great time playing the game. I can understand why people play, but I just can't understand why anyone watches. I happen to think soccer is as boring as watching paint dry. A game averages only 26 shots on goal for both teams. That's a shot every 3.46 minutes. So for 3-1/5 minutes all you see are guys kicking a ball around and very little action. Just not my cup of tea. As for the name football used to describe American football, any ball game that was not played on horseback is referred to as football. I don't know how to create a link but here is a website that describes the reasoning... http://www.todayifou...he-word-soccer/
Dorkington Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 Playing soccer is a boat load of fun. Watching soccer in person, in the right crowd, is a fun time. Watching soccer in person, with a bored crowd, is boring. Watching soccer at home is worse than golf.
bladiebla Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 Goodgrief NO, and that's coming from a European... So much wrong with the officiating in soccer, this world championship alone; out of the first 4 games, 3 were decided by bad calls the refs made, and it could have been 4 had the Dutch not walked over Spain after that false penalty. That said we're seeing a surprising amount of goals thus far, normally in the division stage of the world championship the games are all 0-0 or 1-0 games, current scores make the game a lot more fun to watch. But soccer can be so boring if either one of the team decides to go for defense only. It's a great game but you need to have two teams that are willing to attack in order for it to be entertaining to watch. I do happen to think the NFL could learn a thing or two from Fieldhockey officiating though (and soccer a million things), they have a great system in place (basicly a ref is under constant review by a video ref).
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