The call that drove a stake through the heart of one nation and gave another sweet revenge after 44 years was this World Cup’s most dramatic moment.
And also its most disappointing.
It wasn’t just Frank Lampard and England that deserved better than the outrageous blown call that denied them a valid goal and sent Germany to a 4-1 victory and a place in the quarterfinals.
Soccer deserves better.
The officiating has been a disgrace from the outset.
I would hate to see Soccer officiating devolve into the video reviews that now plague increasingly boring American football. However, it would seem that questionable goals and offsides or fouls inside the box could be subject to review without impacting the flow of the game.
At least in American football, the referee has to divulge the reason for his call, whereas in Soccer, it can be “just because I don’t like your country”.
Such a thing would never have happened in a game of Rugby. First class Rugby Union has gotten the balance between referee and technology about right. Rugby is such a physical game that even when close at hand it is sometimes hard for the referee or touch judges to make a fair call. When this happens he makes this delightful little square signal with his fingers calling in the fourth game official who has access to television replays. This means that the referee retains control of the game while drawing upon technology as needed — by and large, it works very well.