Group F: Brazil, Croatia, Australia, Japan

[alternative]

Originally Posted by marc71178

If he puts his hands in the air, there can only be one reason he's done so, thus showing the intent that makes it a penalty.

did u even see what happened?? Fabio Grosso fell.. it wasn't Neil's fault... and the ref is a blind fag..

[Smudge]

C'mon, marc - give it a rest. Aren't the poor Aussies suffering enough without you trying to raise a laugh (unlikely as it is) with a smug remark?

[The Foxtrot]

As likely as it seemed that Australia would not win the game. We had complete and utter domination over that game (59% possession) Even though we couldnt find the back of the net, it seemed we were in control. To see Australia go out by a questionable (not really, but cant swear) decision by a ref who needs to read the rule book again, it was heart-renching. The refs are protecting the "big" footballing nations, which left us with no chance.

Before the game, most aussies would have been wishing (with some good luck) that we would win the game. I believe, that most Aussies would have been expecting that this game would be the end of the socceroos WC campaign and not really phased about it, I, for one, am disapointed by the level the referee competance in Germany as we DESERVED to win that game. No question about it.

[FaaipDeOiad]

The refereeing has been atrocious, there's no doubt. I've never really felt like my team was being genuinely screwed over before, in any sport. There's the odd bad call obviously, even a trend against you, but Australia played four matches in this world cup and in every one the refereeing had a significant detrimental impact on Australia. Started off with the shocking "goal" Japan scored, through Brazils 3-to-1 foul advantage, Croatia's missed penalties and three yellows and then the goal that ended it. Just unbelievable, and FIFA has some real answering to do. Australia has copped it worse than any other side, but I don't think the USA or Holland would be too happy either.

[marc71178]

Originally Posted by alternative

did u even see what happened??

Yes, I did see what happened.

Neill went to ground, then as Grosso went towards him, he lifter himself up into Grosso - hence it was a penalty.

[JASON]

The referee was a shocker , to give that penalty in the 92nd minute for what clearly seemed a Dive by the Italian !!

This referee was equally culpable as the one in the Netherlands v Portugal game , who should never be allowed to referee a game . ( an example of an official losing control and then going out of control !! )

Had the game gone to Extra Time Australia would have been the obvious winner, as the numerical advantage would have begun to tell on the Italians .

Absolutely agree with All the Aussies !! That was a Bad Bad Bad decision and poor refereeing !!

[Slats4ever]

oh dear marc hits an all time low!!!

[Nnanden]

Originally Posted by marc71178

Yes, I did see what happened.

Neill went to ground, then as Grosso went towards him, he lifter himself up into Grosso - hence it was a penalty.

No, no, no.

Neill went to ground, then as Grosso went towards him - your face.

[Craig]

And Australia was lucky to have Materazzi was sent off. That was a harsh call IMO since he wasn't even the last man (before Buffon), and it should have been yellow.

Call me biased (towards Inter) or whatever you like, but both teams where on the receiving end of bad decisions. I can assure it would have been the other away around had Australia won.

If Australia had learned how to convert their chances they wouldn't have got themselves into that situation.

[ash chaulk]

we didnt deserve to win if we cant score when italy have only 10 men then how would we have won the cup.

[The Foxtrot]

Originally Posted by Craig

And Australia was lucky to have Materazzi was sent off. That was a harsh call IMO since he wasn't even the last man (before Buffon), and it should have been yellow.

See thats where your wrong. The Rules state: (i know this cause i also am an official ref) that if the player, Materazzi, denies an obvious goal scoring oppurtunity then he/she should be sent off without being cautioned. We had an obvious goal scoring oppurtunity and was disadvantaged by a late, lazy tackle.

On the other hand:

Originally Posted by ash chaulk

we didnt deserve to win if we cant score when italy have only 10 men then how would we have won the cup.

Italy deployed a tactic of a defensive mode, niether Luca Toni nor Del Piero were on the pitch, only one key striker.... Plus Italy have been rated as having the best defense in the world, no surprise we werent getting many chances, but we were dominating the play, and possibly with Josh Kennedy on the pitch, especially in extra time, we could have won that game.

[alternative]

Originally Posted by marc71178

Yes, I did see what happened.

Neill went to ground, then as Grosso went towards him, he lifter himself up into Grosso - hence it was a penalty.

You got it completely wrong.. it wasn't Neill's fault, he went down and he stayed down.. he didn't obstruct or anything, penalty was never there.. its all because of the blind ref...

and thats the end of the Story!!!

[marc71178]

Originally Posted by The Foxtrot

See thats where your wrong. The Rules state: (i know this cause i also am an official ref) that if the player, Materazzi, denies an obvious goal scoring oppurtunity then he/she should be sent off without being cautioned. We had an obvious goal scoring oppurtunity and was disadvantaged by a late, lazy tackle.

How is it an obvious scoring opportunity when there's a defender right next to him?

[FaaipDeOiad]

Anyone seen Viduka's tackle/foul stats for the WC yet? A good laugh really, whatever you happen to make of them.

Viduka was tackled the second most of any player in the WC, with 25 tackles suffered behind Figo's 27, and was amazingly fouled just 3 times across those 25 tackles. Figo in comparison won 19 fouls whilst being tackled 27 times.

Even more amazingly, he also committed more fouls than any other player in the whole tournament so far, with 16, despite attempting only 7 tackles himself.

You'd think the guy was getting taken out of the game out there. You know, like Arnold said after the Brazil game.

[howardj]

Well, with such a fantastic performance by our blokes it will be interesting to see how the game flowers here over the next four years. To my mind, the Socceroos will probably be right up there with our cricket team as our strongest supported national side. The World Cup has been a massive shot in the arm for the team itself.

However, a level down, I still think the A-League will struggle to draw big crowds and turn a profit. This is not down to the fact that the fare is poor, rather people are very discerning when it comes to their disposable income and spare time, and they are not disposed to spend either watching anything but the best players.

You can see that sort of principle played out with the Queensland Cup Rugby league competition; Reserve grade AFL or Rugby League; Pura Cup cricket - the games themselves are good quality but they're not patronised simply because people know the best players are not on show. Therefore, they're not profitable.

Finally, I think the World Cup will have a big impact on Junior numbers. I think many more kiddies may sign up. Though junior numbers, as I understand it, have never been much of a problem for soccer in Australia. Rather it's the retention of the kiddies, once they hit their teen years, that is the major problem. Hopefully kids this age are now inspired to be the next Harry Kewell; Tim Cahill etc. That they won't get to see these players too often is a bit problematic though.

All in all, a great show by our lads. And hopefully soccer - along with AFL; Union and League - is here to stay. Australians - Victorians excepted - have always been open enough to follow more than one sport at any one time. While we'll certainly embrace soccer a little more than what used to be the case, it won't pose a huge threat to any of the other codes in the forseeable future. They'll all happily continue to co-exist.