The red card on Mastroeni is absolutely ridiculous. He actually got the ball prior to any contact. Absurd!

That was crazy.. Maybe a yellow card, no way red. Total bs.

Most World Cup posters are on Football Other board. Not sure why, just going with the flow.

the red card on Pope was lame ...what a joke...is FIFA freaking because this is actually close?

Red car was legit (first one) you can't hit the guy that hard and then the ball with your studs and not expect a red card.

USA play from the getgo was sloppy. We ended up playing the Italians game instead of maintaining our own pace. This was our game to win and we should have won it.

Win or lose, the officiating flat out SUCKED!!! The Red Card by the Italian player w/his elbow to McBride's face was legit (and also a cheap shot), but I've seen worse in middle school than those that were called against the American's.

[This message has been edited by NavyAg92 (edited 6/17/2006 5:35p).]

Yes, but this is the world cup.........all 3 cards were legit IMHO

I completely disagree with our first red. that is a yellow card no doubt about it. first of all, it wasn't from behind. second of all we were on the offensive side. third of all he still hit ball, it wasn't like he was way far away. yes it was still a hard foul and a yellow, but no way a red in my o.

I mean you have to think about what red cards are given for and that was not one of those scenarios.

andyv94 - World Cup or not the only "legitimacy" of those red cards on the american's was the color of the cards themselves. Take a moment to review the replay and apply some soccer common sense and maybe you'll realize both were NOT legitimate red cards.

andy can't see past his anti-americanism to see the truth. total crap.

The first Red was definitely legit – excellent positioning by the ref to be able to see the elbow.

The second Red could have gone either way. Many refs would have given a Yellow. No matter, it was a stupid foul by Mastroeni. When you stab an opponent with your cleats, you run the risk of a Red card.

The third Red was actually a second Yellow - another very legit call.

Overall, the Americans committed way too many tacky fouls (24 total fouls) - probably did not endure the ref to our plight.

DaMarcus Beasley came in with less than 30 minutes remaining and did not make the impact he should have – his speed & hustle were apparently left in the dressing room.

Ghana looked great against Czech Republic. Excellent game to watch.

andy does not know anything about soccer.

[This message has been edited by jmar2226 (edited 6/17/2006 7:12p).]

First of all to the tool that wrote this gem.

"andy can't see past his anti-americanism to see the truth. total crap."

Yes, that is why on the Football other board, I took the time to start a whole thread congratulating your soccer team...............dumbass.


This board is full of soccer closet fans and soccer experts all of a sudden.

Here is another gem by jmar2226

"andy does not know anything about soccer."

Yes, you are right I guess my 15 years of playing futbol at club level in Mexico and Spain growing up does not count.

Whatever............the italian player should be suspended for at least the next two games.
That was beyond a cheap foul.

The first red was a red card no questions asked PERIOD. He never even touched the ball, he went with the intention to hit him low and hard not to get the ball (watch the damn FIFA video) 2nd one........strong tackle from behind with intention = RED when Italy was attacking.

Again, all 3 were valid red cards.

USA put a valiant effort and like I stated on my other thread, they sure made a whole lot of new fans out of that game worldwide.

If the 1st red card on the US was legit, I know why no one watches soccer. That was just good hard play.

quote:

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He never even touched the ball, he went with the intention to hit him low and hard not to get the ball (watch the damn FIFA video)

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Wait, so you actually watched the replay and still can't see that he touched the ball (before the player, by the way)? Do you have something against the USMNT or are you just blind? That's ridiculous. It was a yellow card foul - it was not from behind, his foot was sideways (not spikes up), and he was going for the ball. You do not send someone off the pitch at the World Cup for a play like that.

Look, try to talk yourself out of it all you want, but you and I along with everyone here know why he got the red card. That ref did not want to be responsible for a world soccer power like Italy losing a match to the Americans and not advancing due to playing a man down the entire game. After he was forced to remove de Rossi for mugging McBride, he was looking for any opportunity to even things up. It was a makeup call, plain and simple.

I'm completely with you on this DBaggie...and I reiterate the question...you saw the replay and still didn't see Mastroeni hit the ball first???

Look at the Mastro card another way...

If Italy is still playing with 11 men, does he give a red card there? No way. He gives a yellow.

If he wants to control game, the ref waits 2 minutes til end of half. He can tell captains or coaches, 'settle down guys'. Ref lost his mind out there.

DBAggie & the beef,

two things:

FIFAworldcup.com-highlights

Put on your f*&ing glasses!!

Again, the american player.........NEVER touches the ball. Before, during or after he hits the ankle of the italian player. You two make me laugh, take off your red,white and blue glasses and put on your eye glasses.

Andy - Dude, put down the pipe, take a step back, then try doing a swan dive off the curb! You've lost it, man! For every person on here that watched the replay (besides yourself), Mastroeni's slide tackle DID NOT warrant a red card. If you believe this w/your 15 yrs. of experience, then you must've been kicked out of allot games in your years of playing the game - if they let you in, that is.

This article might help you as well:
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/columnists.nsf/berniemiklasz/story/AAE2194B9CE115DA8625719100157100?OpenDocument

Yes I have watched the replay and I also watched the game and saw several replays with different (and better) angles. Let's for a minute pretend that he didn't touch the ball. What about that play warrants a RED card? He wasn't late, he was (in your opinion) a mere fraction of an inch from touching the ball, he did not slide in with spikes up, and he didn't come at the player from behind.

I am NOT saying that Pablo did nothing wrong. It was just a misjudged tackle that deserved a yellow card. On top of all this, Franz Beckenbauer has already gotten after WC referees for being too liberal with the cards. You absolutely cannot remove a player for a game and a half of World Cup competition and force a team to play shorthanded based solely on a challenge like that. This was not a second yellow - this was an immediate ejection which is supposed to be reserved for a malicious act (such as elbowing a player's face and leaving a bleeding gash). I don't know how I can explain this any more clearly.

What about the handball in the box which was not called? You can argue about the cards and whether they were merited, but the handball in the box was clear and that would have given the U.S. a penalty kick.

Ball to hand in my opinion. I had no beef with that.

The Mastroeni red card was a bad call. He clearly went in to tackle the ball away (albeit, from behind, which usually warrants a penalty, but not a card). He even puts his foot on the ball while the Italian player IS NOT touching the ball. A Red Card for that is unbelievable.

andy is just bitter his homeland couldn't beat Angola

andy, are you drunk?

Come on folks seriously?!

How can some of you be that blind(no disrespect by the way)and not see your players INTENTIONS and the fact that he NEVER touches the ball and goes streight for the ankle is beyond me.
If your player had touched the ball like some of you claim, then why is it that the ball continues in the same direction that the italian player was going, and there is no deflection(sp) back??

If this had happened to a mexican player, I would argue the same way and I would feel the same way. Dumb play right in front of the ref.Especially the way the game was going and especially the way the ref was ALL over the field with some of the calls. As a player you ought to kow better to commit a foul like that right in front of this looney ref.

"he did not slide in with spikes up, and he didn't come at the player from behind."-DBAggie

It does NOT matter what angle you are coming from to deserve a red card IF you deem that the intention of the player was to hit/hurt the other player and that the foul is a pretty hard foul (wich in this case it was...he went streight to his ankle with the intention to hit HIM & not the ball) in this case the referee has every right to issue a RED card. PERIOD, end of conversation!!!

NavyAg92,
You were kidding about that article and the guy who wrote it............right???

"andy is just bitter his homeland couldn't beat Angola"-The Padz

No, I am not bitter at all that Mexico could not beat Angola.....I am also not surprise since we are missing creativity up front finishing plays. Unlike some of you folks, I can understand and accept if my team plays bad, or is lacking specific talent or whatever the case may be..................if that is all you can bring to the argument, that's great!


Listen, we can argue until the cows come home.............it really does not matter. What we can agree on is that the ref was HORRIBLE, that we can agree.

What also matters is that the US got a very important point and now they can play for a chance to move on to the next round.

Best of luck to you all for the next game!

quote:

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It does NOT matter what angle you are coming from to deserve a red card IF you deem that the intention of the player was to hit/hurt the other player and that the foul is a pretty hard foul (wich in this case it was...he went streight to his ankle with the intention to hit HIM & not the ball) in this case the referee has every right to issue a RED card.

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You are completely missing the point time after time. I am fully aware of the referee's responsibility to punish a deliberate "enforcement" foul. I gave that list of examples to prove that there was no intention to hurt the player. We obviously disagree on this point, even though I believe you are the only one on this board who holds your particular viewpoint. I listed those things to show that it was just a misjudged tackle, which should have gotten a yellow and does not warrant being thrown out for the rest of WC group play. De Rossi's elbow was intentional and malicious, hence the automatic red.

quote:

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PERIOD, end of conversation!!!

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With all due respect, fvck you. I will discuss whatever I want until nobody wants to talk about it or the mods delete it. If you don't like this conversation, then stop posting. Your opinion is not the final word, especially since you seem to be the only one holding it.

The arrogance of Mexican supporters on all things soccer is astonishing to me considering the fact that their team has never really accomplished anything.

Andy94 - Your quote: " What we can agree on is that the ref was HORRIBLE, that we can agree." and your inability to UNDERSTAND that Mastroeni's tackle DID NOT warrant a red card, is like 1+1=2. You missed the call, Andy. But that's ok pal, we all make mistakes, some just not that obvious.

Oh and the ariticle link I sent you - I'm sure you loved it b/c even people outside of this board disagree w/you as well. Don't worry, it's ok to have an opinion. May have been wayyyyy off, but we understand you're trying.

92,

That article that you linked to, was written by some fat dude in St. Louis............what am I supposed to get out of that soccer wise??Tell me again how the opinion of some journalist is relevant to the argument?? I am sure that I can pull many italian newspapers stating the opposite...........your point??

"and your inability to UNDERSTAND that Mastroeni's tackle DID NOT warrant a red card, is like 1+1=2. You missed the call, Andy"

My inability to understand?? ok, pal whatever you say...............I am done arguing the point.

"I'm sure you loved it b/c even people outside of this board disagree w/you as well"
Yes, some fat journalist that looks like he should be covering the food & wine section of the newspaper is going to change my mind.

Again, IMHO that was a red card..........I speak from watching the game, the way the ref was calling the game and from experience......you are not going to change my mind and I am not going to change yours.

DBAggie,

Pleeeease stop making me laugh!!

"With all due respect, fvck you."- come on men, you can do better then that.

"I will discuss whatever I want until nobody wants to talk about it or the mods delete it." -good for you

"Your opinion is not the final word, especially since you seem to be the only one holding it."
You are right, my opinion is not the final word, it's just an opinion.
Maybe because I am the only non-american posting about this topic that can put the passion aside and see it with neutral eyes.

"The arrogance of Mexican supporters on all things soccer is astonishing to me considering the fact that their team has never really accomplished anything."

arrogance??..........listen, I have kept my soccer posting to a neutral. Never did I put down the americans at all, or anything like that....why you have to come out with that bs is beyond me.

I have stated many times that the US has reached a very impressive level of soccer, so if I was so arrogant, why would I even say that?!

If this had happened to Mexico or Spain........I would have been as critical of the play. No need to get all personal over an opinion, relax.

For us all from Andy94 -

His quote: "My inability to understand?? ok, pal whatever you say...............I am done arguing the point."

Beautiful! Now maybe he'll just go away instead of going away crying. Besides, I'm sure his weak points would be MORE valued on a Mexican or Spanish board as he so stated. Last check, this was an Aggie board based in the UNITED STATES!

And I hope the "Fat Man" doesn't smack him on the A$$ on his way out.


[This message has been edited by NavyAg92 (edited 6/18/2006 3:10p).]

navy,


"this was an Aggie board based in the UNITED STATES!"

Last time I checked, I had an ag tag next to my handle and last time I checked we were talking about the US.

Apparently you can't handle other peoples opinions..............too sad.

quote:

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Maybe because I am the only non-american posting about this topic that can put the passion aside and see it with neutral eyes.

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Yes, Mexican fans are known for their neutrality regarding the US and its supporters.

Does an entire stadium full of people chanting "Osama! Osama! Osama!" ring a bell? What absolute trash. (the soccer fans, not the people in general)

ANDY PLEEEEAAAAASE STOP MAKING ME LAUGH!


[This message has been edited by DBAggie (edited 6/18/2006 6:31p).]

END OF DISCUSSION!!!