449 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

Canadian coach was a self-centered jackass that should be fired.

[Victoria Watcher]

Riots in Belgium after Morocco win at FIFA World Cup, dozens detained | Video

 

https://www.hindusta...9601259685.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brussels mayor Philippe Close urged people to stay away from the city center and said authorities were doing their utmost to keep order in the streets. Even subway and tram traffic had to be interrupted on police orders.

 

https://www.voanews....up/6852233.html

 

"Those are not fans, they are rioters. Moroccan fans are there to celebrate," Close said. There were also disturbances in the city of Antwerp and Liege.

 

"Sad to see how a few individuals abuse a situation to run amok," said Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden.

 

Police in the neighboring Netherlands said violence erupted in the port city of Rotterdam, with riot officers attempting to break up a group of 500 soccer supporters who pelted police with fireworks and glass. Media reported unrest in the capital Amsterdam and The Hague.

 

 

Morocco's victory was a major upset at the World Cup and was enthusiastically celebrated by fans with Moroccan immigrant roots in many Belgian and Dutch cities.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 28 November 2022 - 04:10 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

World Cup frenzy puts strain on Qatar's camels

 

As Qatar welcomes more than a million fans for the monthlong World Cup, even its camels are working overtime

 

https://abcnews.go.c...camels-94080907

 

 

 

 

 

Aren't the camel owners putting the strain on the camels?  They can decide how often they ride.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 28 November 2022 - 06:22 AM.

[AllseeingEye]

Canadian coach was a self-centered jackass that should be fired.

 

It was definitely not a good look and except for a certain hard core of Herdman supporters in this country essentially every one else in the football world is singularly unimpressed by Canada's words and actions. Personally as someone who played the 'beautiful game' until my mid-late 20's I find them extremely distasteful; what's more I find it incomprehensible how so many Canadians who are rabidly defending Herdman don't seem to understand why it all went so badly wrong. Certainly no one else in the football world is remotely impressed....

 

Anyone who has ever played any organized sport especially at a competitive level knows you don't ever provide the opposition with fuel by making derogatory or disparaging comments prior to the match. What he did was to disrespect a nation with a proud footballing heritage (one with barely 1/10th our population BTW) - and one on the international stage that has accomplished infinitely more than we ever have. Consider the bar here in this country was set so low we actually went into a national frenzy over the modest accomplishment of scoring a single goal. Let that sink in: we didn't win or even tie a game. or gain a single point. We scored a goal - which after all is the point of the sport - and went bonkers. Frankly the orgy of celebration which followed that very lowest of achievements in the sport in itself was embarrassing.

 

But the pre-game - and post game - comments were far worse and would be analogous to Japan making similar comments about our national hockey team: what has Japan ever accomplished in that sport relative to us? Canada's response more than likely would be to thrash the living daylights out of them on the ice to shut them up. Same scenario re Canada and Croatia and futbol. We really did get what we deserved and in spite of Canada being at the pinnacle of its football development right now, Croatia had zero trouble running us into the ground and giving us a damn good spanking.

 

Bottom line is that it was a stupid comment which was cited by many Croatian players after the game as something that only angered and incented them to play even harder against the upstarts. Even worse from my standpoint in terms of optics was Herdman's failure to walk over and shake hands with the Croatian coach after the match. That is inexcusably poor sportsmanship and he and we are rightly being heavily criticized and taken to task for it in Europe particularly.

 

If Canada wants to salvage something out of this WC in terms of its image and especially good will, they better come out a beat or at the very least earn a draw with Morocco. If they can do that maybe they can also earn back some of the self respect we lost after the Croatian debacle.

[Mike K.]

Soccer and hooliganism is now news? It’s a key ingredient of the sport.

[Victoria Watcher]

We are the 2nd of 32 nations eliminated. We are a joke.

[AllseeingEye]

Soccer and hooliganism is now news? It’s a key ingredient of the sport.

 

Sure among certain fanbases although that has diminished in recent years. The Brits (and the Poles of all people) were the absolute worst back in the day. But among coaches especially a higher degree of decorum is expected and almost always practiced. Shaking hands after a match, regardless of outcome, is protocol especially in high profile events like the WC.

 

In the mid 70's when we went on a family trip to Britain my uncles took us to a Premier League game between Chelsea and Millwall. We wanted to see that game as our grandfather, who was on that trip, had played for Millwall after the Great War and wanted to see his old club.

 

Millwall had the absolute worst fans at that time; on the day of the game there was a drunken brawl at a London train station between Millwall and Chelsea fans coming down to London to see their team; it resulted in one of the latter being thrown under a train and being killed. The Millwall supporters made up a song about the episode and sang it during the game....

[Mike K.]

Oh yeah, it's cleaned up its image a bit, but I was referring to the riot, which is sort of par for the course now in sports, isn't it?

 

Vancouver had a heck of a riot 15 years ago when the Canucks won or lost something, I can't even remember what it was.

 

It's still sketchy to be wearing the wrong jersey at the wrong stadium in Europe.

[Victoria Watcher]

The riot was by Moroccan expats (ie. refugees) in European countries. It was not by locals.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 28 November 2022 - 08:57 AM.

[Mike K.]

Was this Moroccan expats, too, last year?: https://www.opindia....s-crowd-soccer/

 

Soccer is a sport that harbours a lot of hooliganism. It's still alive and well, it's just not as dumb as it was in the 80s.

[Victoria Watcher]

No but you were taking about yesterdays riot.

[Mike K.]

Here we have Italians rioting in Albania, earlier this year: https://balkaninsigh...football-final/

 

Albania deported 80 Italian football fans on Wednesday after they clashed with police on Tuesday evening in Tirana on the eve of UEFA Conference League match between Roma and Dutch club Feyenoord.

 

 

Not a lot of intelligence follows soccer, it looks like.

[Mike K.]

No but you were taking about yesterdays riot.

 

I'm saying rioting and soccer is not all that newsworthy, it's par for the course.

[Victoria Watcher]

England and USA through.

[AllseeingEye]

One negative aspect of futbol which happily has made few appearances thus far is occurring in spades today in US - Iran, and that is the flopping and dropping and tumbling to the ground like a player has been hit by a battery of .50 calibre anti-aircraft artillery.....

 

I only watched the second half between these two fairly matched squads but the Iranians were diving all over the place at the merest hint that an American player *might* have been within a few feet of them. I hate that s***. Its embarrassing for the sport. Players that dive or otherwise simulate contact can be yellow-carded and I wish the refs would pull them at every opportunity to kill off this behaviour.

 

US moves to the Round of 16 after beating Iran 1-0. A bit ironic given all the pre WC media blather and noise about CONCACAF winner Canada, but its the US that quietly moves on while we go home.

[Victoria Watcher]

Netherlands / USA 7am this Saturday.

[lanforod]

One negative aspect of futbol which happily has made few appearances thus far is occurring in spades today in US - Iran, and that is the flopping and dropping and tumbling to the ground like a player has been hit by a battery of .50 calibre anti-aircraft artillery.....

 

I only watched the second half between these two fairly matched squads but the Iranians were diving all over the place at the merest hint that an American player *might* have been within a few feet of them. I hate that s***. Its embarrassing for the sport. Players that dive or otherwise simulate contact can be yellow-carded and I wish the refs would pull them at every opportunity to kill off this behaviour.

 

US moves to the Round of 16 after beating Iran 1-0. A bit ironic given all the pre WC media blather and noise about CONCACAF winner Canada, but its the US that quietly moves on while we go home.

 

I always think its a poor indicator of which teams are actually better by having the tournament rely on so few games. For such a major tournament, they really should run a larger round robin and try to do some actual country vs countries best of 3 or 5 series. But yep, futbol players don't seem all that tough.

[Ismo07]

I always think its a poor indicator of which teams are actually better by having the tournament rely on so few games. For such a major tournament, they really should run a larger round robin and try to do some actual country vs countries best of 3 or 5 series. But yep, futbol players don't seem all that tough.

 

Quite a few games lead up to the tourney...  I think they weed out poor teams quite well, as well as some good teams.  The draw of the groups is quite important.

[Victoria Watcher]

I always think its a poor indicator of which teams are actually better by having the tournament rely










For such a major tournament, they really should run a larger round robin and try to do some actual country vs countries best of 3 or 5 series. But yep, futbol players don't seem all that tough.

All professional leagues are put on hold for the duration. They cannot extend it. It’s already seriously disruptive.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 29 November 2022 - 03:47 PM.

[lanforod]

Not this year. Lol. And yes, I don’t mind the rank up to get the top 48 defined. At the tournament itself, run more freaking games!