Soccer (General)

[Avery86]

Originally Posted by BurnTHalO

I'm slowly getting into soccer, but every time I do, they do something to bring me right back out. Three teenagers killed a ref in the Netherlands. Shocking. Almost as shocking as the fact this isn't the first incident of a ref being killed by a player.

So I defer to someone to explain to me what this culture is. Soccer players are far from the toughest athletes, far from the biggest, and yet I don't think you get this level of violence against refs in other sports. Is this a culture that FIFA doesn't come down hard enough on and it trickles down? Or is it just more widley exposed in soccer?

It's hardly a trend, nor a common occurrence. It's obviously going to get a lot of press because it is a tragedy, but if you look at the sport on a truly global level, you'll see instances of violence like this are by far very rare.

All I can say is please don't think this event is at all indicative of the sport's culture. It's truly a global game with billions tuning in for the World Cup; the actions of a few punks in the Netherlands shouldn't be viewed as a symptom of some sort of violent culture endemic to the sport.

[BurnTHalO]

Originally Posted by Avery86

It's hardly a trend, nor a common occurrence. It's obviously going to get a lot of press because it is a tragedy, but if you look at the sport on a truly global level, you'll see instances of violence like this are by far very rare.

All I can say is please don't think this event is at all indicative of the sport's culture. It's truly a global game with billions tuning in for the World Cup; the actions of a few punks in the Netherlands shouldn't be viewed as a symptom of some sort of violent culture endemic to the sport.

It's not a few in the Netherlands though. Sure, deaths aren't as common, but assualts on refs aren't isolated to two incidents in the Netherlands. I mean, is there something FIFA could be doing better (If my soccer friends are any indication, FIFA is terrible at governing the sport).

[Avery86]

Originally Posted by BurnTHalO

It's not a few in the Netherlands though. Sure, deaths aren't as common, but assualts on refs aren't isolated to two incidents in the Netherlands. I mean, is there something FIFA could be doing better (If my soccer friends are any indication, FIFA is terrible at governing the sport).

We're talking about a sport that has millions and millions of players worldwide spanning across myriad age groups and skill levels. I don't think it's fair to assume violence against referees is normal or acceptable when you look at it in context.

I'm not saying it's okay, I'm just saying it's not some rampant problem.

That said, what can FIFA do? This was a youth match, not an officially sanctioned, international FIFA-run match. FIFA can threaten sanctions against the Dutch FA or, more likely, UEFA as a form of pressure to get the FA to act, but they can't come in and punish the club.

[Hoek]

From the stuff that makes the news out of hockey you'd think the sport was full of pedophiles. Just saying..

I don't think there's some big culture of violence against referees in soccer. I know recently in an Argentine lower division one player got banned from the game for life just for kicking a ref, so normally there is zero tolerance at all for it. About the only thing FIFA could do which I wouldn't mind is having the big league refs crack down harder on guys getting in their face and arguing calls. I think professionals are getting more brazen about it and maybe that sets a bad example.

[Hoek]

BTW, very similar hockey story..

Quebec youth hockey org cancels seasons for all teams after players’ terrifying attack on referee

[Avery86]

Originally Posted by Hoek

From the stuff that makes the news out of hockey you'd think the sport was full of pedophiles. Just saying..

Ding ding. Don't let a few bad apples spoil the bunch.

[ChaseSpace]

Tomorrow is the day the Tampa based group is supposed to unveil their plans for an MLS stadium. Tomorrow is also Orlando's fan forum day where they will unveil their 2013 jersey and update the fanbase on their MLS status.

[Avery86]

Benny Feilhaber is heading to Kansas City.

[chad]

[ChaseSpace]

Anyone able to find anything on the arena presentation that Tampa group was supposed to present yesterday?