As World Cup Gets Underway, Refs Will Demand Clean Play

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

MUNICH – After months of build up, the soccer starts here today when, after an hour or so of blinding and deafening local color and folk music and dancing – the traditional way of beginning each World Cup – the host Germans take on Costa Rica (12 p.m., ESPN2).

But as the world looks forward to a month of top class soccer, a threatening cloud has been cast over the tournament by the Socceroos. Yes, the Socceroos, which is what the Australian team calls itself – a nice, friendly, cuddly sort of nickname.

Beware – these Socceroos are anything but friendly,and they have already served notice of the dangerously rustic soccer that they intend to play in Germany.Last week they played the Netherlands to a 1-1 tie in a warm-up match, and sent no fewer than three Dutch players limping out of the game.

Widely criticized for their approach, the Aussies were unrepentant: “What a great match, with a great physical level that proves our players are ready,” crowed coach Guus Hiddink, who happens to be Dutch.

Even so, the Socceroos obviously fear that all may not go well with their vigorous tactics. What worries them is that FIFA has demanded that the 21 World Cup referees deal severely with rough play (president Sepp Blatter has singled out elbowing) and must protect the sport’s skillful players by clamping down on rough tackling. It’s an edict that, if fully enforced, would take away a major part of the Socceroos’ game.

Australian defender Lucas Neil has come up with a preemptory strike, sounding off with what could be seen as a clarification of Australian soccer, but is really an attempt to undermine the clamp-down, to make referees hesitate in their decisions.

“We just try to assert our authority on the game by playing a high pressure game,” he said, defending his team’s physical play against the Dutch, and warning that the Socceroos would not hesitate to use the same tactics again. Neil expressed a fear that the clamp down would make World Cup referees mistake legitimate tackles for fouls.

The problem for Neil and the Socceroos is that the sport of soccer has been listening to this hard-but-fair drivel for decades – it always comes from inferior teams, it always means violent play, and it always causes problems. One thing it never means is attractive soccer.

This tournament has particular reason to worry about the Socceroos and their primitive style, because they have been drawn into the same group as Brazil.The two meet in Munich on June 18, and Neil has already given us his vision of that game: “The game against Brazil is going to be all desperation and lunges, it’s part of the game and I hope it doesn’t turn into a bit of a farce.”

What he fears is that the referees will not look kindly on all those lunging challenges, and that the Socceroos may have their game taken away from them. In effect, though they don’t word it that way, the Aussies want license to rough players up. “Against Holland, because they’re so technically gifted, we had to try and upset the rhythm of their passing game. And I thought we did it very well,” Neil explained.

The problem is one that soccer has yet to solve. The sport and its players desperately want to be seen as intensely macho.The feeling that it is wimpy to complain about rough play was never clearer than in the words of Dutch coach Marco Van Basten after that game with Australia: “This was a match for men … but unfortunately three of my players are now injured.”That from Van Basten, a player whose brilliant goal-scoring career was cut short by injuries suffered from rough tackling!

The Brazilian coach, Carlos Alberto Parreira, has been slightly more direct, saying that “Australia are very tough opponents and they’re going to cause trouble for all the teams in the group, including us.”

But Parreira’s remark came in the middle of some pointed comments on the FIFA clampdown. “We always hear this before a World Cup, they always say violence will not be allowed and gamesmanship will be stopped. It’s a good idea and I want to see it put into practice. Soccer will be better to watch, there will be fewer fouls, but I want to see action. So far, I’ve heard a lot of promises but it hasn’t happened.”

Parreira is right. The clampdowns have a habit of never quite happening, of quietly petering out during the tournament. The referees, in short, simply will not hand out the necessary punishment, in particular the yellow and red cards.

FIFA does its best by appointing the strictest disciplinarian it can find to referee the opening game. The officiating in that game is then supposed to “set the tone” for the 63 games to follow. This year, the chosen referee, for today’s Germany vs. Costa Rica game, is Argentina’s Horacio Elizondo. He’s an excellent choice – a tall, authoritative, athletic figure who is never afraid to hand out cards.

But can he do it in the cauldron of the World Cup opener, in an atmosphere where some 60,000 German fans will be baying for a German victory, however it is achieved. Will Elizondo dare to eject a German player for rough play?

Even if Elizondo does strictly enforce the “get-tough” instructions, will he get any thanks for it, or will he be buried beneath a wave of negative criticism that he “ruined the game” by not “allowing it to flow?”

It is that sort of criticism that the Socceroos rely on to make their own case and to ensure that the opening game is really a one-off showcase before the refereeing sinks back into something less draconian.

This must not be allowed to happen. The thought of Brazil’s stars – more technically gifted than the Dutch, who have already suffered by having their passing rhythm “upset”- being mauled by Australia’s violent tackling and its innocent-sounding “high-pressure game” is not one that could possibly appeal to any true lover of soccer. The as yet unmade choice of referee for the Brazil vs. Australia clash will be crucial if this tournament is to be about good soccer and not physical intimidation.

pgardner@nysun.com


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