A Game Out of Control; BYU vs New Mexico

In the 2006 FIFA World Cup Final, the referee's (with perhaps the help of video replay on the big screen) were able to make the right call and hand out a red card to Zidane. Now what about all the times when the red card was not handed out when it was merited?
The Mountain West Conference women's soccer semifinal game between BYU and UNM became the most popular soccer game in the nation when parts of the game were aired on ESPN. UNM defender Elizabeth Lambert was shown punching, kicking, and yanking BYU players to the ground by their hair—all of which somehow went unnoticed by all three referees on the field. “That is a straight red card!” exclaimed Mountain West soccer analyst Mark Rogondino on a number of occasions during the game.
During the live broadcast of the game aired on November 5, 2009, many of these infractions were caught on tape and seen by the viewers. Soccer analysts Mark Rogondino and Bill Riley who were calling the game had this to say as it was happening:
Mark: “Our referee right now is going to have to get this one in order. Lambert is very fortunate to still be in this game. The referee has missed a couple of cards here. That is a straight red right here! There is no doubt about it. That is a straight red!”
Bill: “That is unbelievable, is what that is.”
Mark: “That is two opportunities and our referee here, Joe Pomantle, has had and he missed them both.”
The referee’s clearly made a lot of mistakes in this game and missed a lot of opportunities to get a hold on the game. When this happens, the players suffer, the teams suffer, and the game suffers. "You can never control the officiating or what they call," she said. "We want to make sure that this doesn't become a distraction," said BYU head coach Jennifer Rockwood after the game.
See videos aired on ESPN:

Clearly the referee’s allowed the game to get way out of hand, but this is not a unique case in the fact that video replay could have aided in a big way. Luckily, the rough play by New Mexico did not alter the outcome of the game as BYU came out victorious with a 1-0 win. However, BYU did not play at the top of their game in the following round when they lost the championship 1-0 to SDSU. Could the game with New Mexico have had lingering effects? We cannot know how far the effects of one bad game can go. One bad call can change the whole outcome of tournaments and seasons. Next time, I will discuss the repercussions of one bad call and how it changed the world for the country of Ireland.

2006 FIFA World Cup: The last time around

The 2006 FIFA World Cup is remembered by most as the soccer tournament plagued by yellow and red cards. Players received a record-breaking 345 yellow cards and 28 red cards. It seemed as though more attention was given to the referees than to the players.
The 2006 World Cup ranked as the fourth most watched event in television history, garnering an impressive 26.29 billions non-unique viewers over the course of the tournament. Great stories and dramas unfolded as Germany, the host country, defied expectations and gave their critical fans something to cheer about and as Ghana, in their first World Cup, advanced to the second round after defeating top-ranked USA and Czech Republic in the group stages. Yet, what most people remember about the World Cup is not these great stories. Instead they remember the controversies of USA’s red cards handed out by Jorge Larrionda in their game against Italy and the controversial calls made by Markus Merk in the USA versus Ghana game, just to name a few. In the round of 16 match between Portugal and the Netherlands alone, Valentin Ivanov handed out 16 yellow cards and 4 red cards. In the World’s greatest stage for sports, it is a pity that the lime light was stolen by the sports officials.
Who’s to blame?
Complaints were made throughout the tournament that the referees were controlling too much of the game. They exercised too much power and made too much of an impact on the results. Yet, the problem seemed to run even deeper. FIFA officials and FIFA President Sepp Blatter received criticism for making rules too strict and taking discretion away from the referees, (BBC Sports. 26 June, 2006). This, according to Five Live Sport summarizer Chris Waddle, had a huge impact on the run and ruling of the games.
“[Bad tackles and diving are] part and parcel of the game—it’s up to the referees to punish these things. It is what they are there for. If everybody watching the game can see someone cheating or a bad tackle, why can’t the referee see it?”
“Because they are not allowed to. They are under so much pressure they must judge everything according to the letter of the law.”
The Solution
Arguments go back and forth on who the blame belongs to, but after all is said, what is to be done?
Video replay can be the solution. Under such pressure circumstances, referees need help making crucial calls that have the potential to greatly influence the game. In the second round of the tournament in the game between Italy and Australia, Italy was awarded a penalty kick in the final minute of the game which up to that point had been played to a 0-0 tie. The replay clearly showed that no foul was committed in the box, however, good acting convinced the referee. Italy went on to win the World Cup.
In the final of the 2006 World Cup between France and Italy, the Golden Ball winner (the award given to the player voted as the best player of the tournament) Zinedine Zidane of France was sent off with a red card after violently head-butting Italy’s Marco Materazzi in the chest. The incident was replayed throughout the arena, but much discussion was made between the referees before making the correct decision. Yet, after the call was made, much discussion continued as to whether the referees actually saw the incident occur or if they had seen it replayed on the big screen. Why? Because the “letter of the law” states that officials cannot make a call if they do not see it happen with their own eyes.
What about the other calls that were not made because the referees did not see? What about the calls that the referees did make because of what they thought they saw? Video replay resolves these problems.
With the 2010 World Cup fast approaching, what do we look for this time around? We are here to watch the players, not the referees.