Reason number one:
Soccer vs. Football
Will the name argument ever end? No, and this is one very obvious reason soccer will never truly be a huge sport in America. It's obvious we have the NFL and because of that, soccer may will not ever be referred to as football, despite the scientific fact that feet are used more in soccer. The fact that America will not refer to Soccer as "Football" is not a big deal, though and I think most Americans realize that. The rest of the world however, (minus Australia, of course) needs to realize that America cannot (and will not) refer to soccer as Football. Once the petty arguments about the "real" name of the game stop, soccer can move on it's way towards being a more popular sport in America.
Sepp Blatter
Look at him. He's practically the penguin. (photo by AP)
Complaints? Sepp Blatter? Too many to blog about, but here's the gist of it: He's against the introduction of goal line technology, despite the fact that EVERY other major sport in the history of sports has at least one form of replay. He personally made sure the vuvuzela stayed at the world cup. And finally, he has no problems with cheaters in the world cup (see France v Ireland).
Complaint number two:
Terrible decisions by refereeing crews*
Look, I hate blaming referees as much as the next guy. Mainly because I referee soccer games quite a bit. You have to be in top shape to even think about being able to keep up with the flow of the game, not to mention have your eyes on the players, entire field, and AR's. It's probably the hardest game to referee, but all that aside, there were several calls that were just plain terrible.
Phantom Foul? Offside? We may ever know.
Handball? Even the "Hand of god" criticized it, but only because everyone laughed afterward.
FIFA Law 15-2010-USA states "if the USA have a chance of looking decent, the referee may disallow a goal if needed"
Even the German keeper, doing his best mid-air dolphin impression knew it was a goal.
You don't need to be German to understand this terrible call, or lack thereof.
You know it's bad when I argue that Lampard's goal for England vs. Germany should have counted (revenge of 66?) and that a goal against Mexico shouldn't have counted. Like Sepp Blatter, the referees could have more than enough complaints to fill up a blog post, however I'll just stick with these five as they are some of the most obvious.
Reason Number Two:
Koman Coulibaly
The world's utmost authority on half awake refereeing, Coulibaly put Mali on the map, but not the good map. (Photo © international hazma)
It's never a good idea to take anything that will make you drowsy before a match, but that didn't stop Coulibaly. Now, one may argue we didn't need the goal to advance... To which I would reply, "One does not need eyes to read, so give Koman yours. He NEEDS them." This guy was probably the worst and most influential referee so far this tournament, despite the number of referees who wrongly sent off players in other matches. But don't expect his mistake to keep Koman out of future world cups, much less the Cup of African Nations. Sepp Blatter likes this guy too much, no matter how many mistakes he makes. Referees like Koman are a huge reason people just starting to watch soccer will turn away. Bad calls in big name sports don't turn most fans away, but with soccer, a not-so-popular sport in the U.S., calls like this could ruin the game's reputation for life.
Reason/Complaint number three:
The Vuvuzela
Hey look, it's a vuvuzela party! (no homo?)
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And that's it... Only five total complaints and reasons? Yes, but only because I'm sticking with the major ones. Any I forgot? Just add them in the comments. Oh, and the actual number of complaints/reasons I put in this blog is unknown to me. I'm too lazy to count. Sorry.
