*** Soccer Post - 17in French and Thierry Henry ***

[msubullie4life]

Thierry Henry blatantly handles the ball and passes it for a goal and the refs turn a blind-eye to it. Poor Irish get knocked out of the World Cup. FIFA refs suck worse than SEC refs.

Edited to add the video:

<span><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mIQtT9PAn58&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowScriptAccess="never" width="425" height="344" ></embed></span>

 

[MSUCostanza]

That "playoff" was rigged from the start. They changed the rules in the middle of the game, and put the two teams into lots based on their FIFA rankings, after saying before the group stages that it was going to be a random draw. Then once France and Portugal got into trouble and barely even made the playoff, they changed it. Total horseshit.

 

[msubullie4life]

FIFA makes the NCAA look like choir boys!

 

[patdog]

I can't lie. It was a hand ball. But I'm not the ref.

Costanza is right. FIFA does everything it possibly can to rig tournaments. The latest example is the changing of the process for the UEFA matchups in the play-in round. I don't have a problem with seeding the top 4 teams. They probably should be seeded. But you don't announce that it will be a random draw and then when you see that 2 top teams are going to be playing change it to a seeded format. The "pot" system for determining the World Cup draws is equally as rigged.

 

[jsireland]

first "announce" that it would be a random draw. a seed draw was announced mid-qualifying, but i never heard them announce anything about the draw until then. not saying it didn't happen, just that i watch a lot of soccer and never heard it.

also, i don't get the whole outcry against thierry henry and the french, except for the fact that it's against an english-speaking country. i wished they would have lost as well, but it's on the refs. if he handles it, what is he supposed to do? ask the ref to take it off the board? i'm with thierry: ''The ball hit my arm, fell in front of me and I played it. The ref allowed it. That's a question you should ask him.''

 

[patdog]

But I think in the absense of any other announcement, that's what everybody just assumed it was going to be.

As for Henry, I don't blame him either. What's he supposed to do? Hell, I did pretty much the same thing in a church league softball game in Starkville many years ago. I was on 2nd and Milton Smith was playing shortstop. Our batter grounded to him and Milton tagged me going to 3rd (we had a man on 1st as well) then threw to 1st for the double play. I just ran to 3rd and stood there like I belonged there and the umpire never called me out.

 

[bulldogballa]

Damn I thought we in the SEC took it hard when playing Florida or Bama, but damn