Clearly, it wasn't supposed to end this way. Sure it would've been a fairy tale ending to an illustrious career if Zizou could've carried Les Bleus to victory, but who could've predicted a scenario as ugly and shameful as this. Sent off in the 110th minute of the match for an outrageously stupid headbutt to the chest of Italian defender Marco Materazzi, Zinedine Zidane wasn't even on the pitch with his team to collect his runner-up medal after the Italians claimed football's ultimate prize.
It will continue to be debated as to which one of the officials saw this act of violence - Elizondo, his near-side Assistant, the fourth, or perhaps even the fifth official - but to me it's irrelevant. We ALL saw it. Nearly two billion of us. And for a man who many of us consider to be heroic in his sporting elegance and class, Zidane got what he deserved.
Maybe Materazzi deserved what he got too. We'll probably never know what words were exchanged by the two players, but we'll never forget Zidane's reaction. And although there is some speculation that video replay was used to send off the French captain, the fact remains that he did what he did and was ultimately properly punished for his inexcusable actions.
Who knows, maybe this and many other controversial incidents will force FIFA's hand to allow for the introduction of such technology to be employed on a very limited basis when tv replays are available. Perhaps by doing so it will eliminate much of the gamesmanship and controversy that often seems to surround virtually every football match.
Now, rather than dissect this match as I've done for so many throughout the tournament, I'd like to congratulate all of the referees and their assistants throughout the sixty-four game tournament. While some seemed more capable than others on any given day, each team of three was chosen from amongst the top referees in the world and all were eminently capable and qualified to be there. Sure, Ivanov will always be remembered as the guy who issued more cards than any other referee in a World Cup match, but his long and illustrious career likely includes hundreds if not thousands of other matches in which he has performed admirably (along with the teams).
Likewise, Uruguay's much-criticized (by the American press primarily) Jorge Larrionda proved himself to be a referee of the highest quality and not a "quick draw McGraw" (as Marcelo Balboa called him) in matches when the players' actions didn't warrant strict punishment.
Sure, it's always quite easy to blame the referee for poor decisions that affect the outcome of a game. But until the human factor is replaced by the precision accuracy of robots and machines, judgment calls will always come under scrutiny. And perhaps that's yet another argument for limited use of replay technology when game-breaking decisions are made by referees. Maybe then we will be able to move just a little closer towards the perfection that we've all come to expect from people who must make split-second decisions hundreds of times throughout a ninety-minute match.
In real-time, it seemed absolutely undeniable that Materazzi had clipped Malouda in the penalty area in the 6th minute of the match. On replay, however, it was really difficult to tell. So just imagine trying to make that call when you only have one opportunity to get it right and it happens in a flash. I never was able to know for sure if Materazzi had gotten a piece of him or merely forced Malouda off the ball by angling into his path. But the point is this, Materazzi put himself in a position where the referee was damned if he did and damned if he didn't. By coming in recklessly and not playing the ball at all, whether or not he even made contact with Malouda is almost irrelevant. My guess is that even if replay technology were employed in this case that the penalty would still have been upheld. But again, I'm sure many of you will choose to disagree...and maybe that's something we love about sport anyway - the controversy.
For me, Elizondo and his crew deserve plaudits not just for this match, but for the other four they officiated throughout the tournament as well. He proved himself to be an excellent communicator, in peak fitness, and someone who possesses the highest level of understanding of the game and its laws, including how they are to be applied.
It should be noted that before sending Zidane off in the 110th minute, Elizondo had only cautioned three other players - two of which occurred in the first twelve minutes of the match for reckless challenges and the third to Diarra in the 76th for dissent. The players came to play and Elizondo allowed this. Did I agree with every one of his decisions or non-decisions? Nope. But in the end, he proved that FIFA had made a wise decision to select him for a match with such gravity.
And likewise, the little-known (prior to the tournament) Toru Kamikawa, showed that FIFA had rewarded the Japanese ref for a job well done throughout his matches in Germany. Perhaps Germany's 3 - 1 victory over Portugal in the third-place match will not be the last time we see him in a World Cup. If he's young enough and maintains his fitness for the next four years, maybe we'll see him in South Africa. And if he continues to show his command for the game, he might get his opporunity to work the final for years from now.
Finally, I want to thank Sean and Chris - the guys who created this website - for giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts on the games. In a world where everyone cares passionately about the success of their team, I felt it was important to show a different perspective than what we might be used to. Because there is and will probably always continue to be a great deal of misunderstanding about the decisions and thinking behind the decisions that referees make, I wanted to help you, the football enthusiast, gain some insight into how a referee thinks, works, and metes judgment on the pitch.
I greatly appreciate all of you who've taken the time to read my posts and hope they have been of some value to you as well as providing you a modicum of entertainment too. For those of you who took the time to comment on my opinions, I thank very much for your thoughts whether you agreed with me or not. I simply enjoyed the 'discussion' and debate.
I apologize for not being able to always reply to every comment, however, as many of you know, I did take the time to provide lengthy responses to your questions when I had the time and/or inclination. Keeping up with the games, writing about them, and refereeing games in the evenings and on the weekends was an incredible challenge and not one that my girlfriend particularly enjoyed as it left very little time for the two of us. But now that Italy has lifted its fourth Jules Rimet trophy, maybe it's time for us to return to living our normal lives once again.
It's been my honor and pleasure to share this past month with you, and hopefully, we'll have the opportunity to continue in some fashion in the future. Sean and Chris will likely be keeping me around to write for them and I look forward to providing you with more views from the middle in the months and years ahead.
Until next time...
peace,
ac
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