Why Canada loves Christine Sinclair, hates Christina Pedersen and soccer sucks

Canadian hero-Christine Sinclair

Usually I'm not much of a soccer fan but as much as I hate to admit it, the Olympic semi-final game today between the Canadian and US women was one of the most thrilling sporting events I have watched in some time.  The final score in an overtime that should never have happened was Canada 3, the US and Norwegian referee Christina Pedersen 4.  Google her name and you will see hundreds of reports on how she single handledly gave the game to the US.  I'm not saying the US didn't outplay Canada because they probably did but goals  are what count and when the US couldn't score on their own, Pedersen did everything in her power to ensure the US scored more than Canada.

The star of the game was undoubtedly Christine Sinclair who scored all 3 Canadian goals.  To have such a great performance by a player overshadowed by an inept official is disgusting.

But come to think of it, I guess that's why I'm not a big fan of soccer because it only has 1 referee on the field to watch 22 players compared to baseball with 4 (7 in playoffs) to watch 10-13, basketball with 3 watching 10, hockey with 4 watching 12.  Notwithstanding, Christina Pedersen should never be allowed to officiate another game at any level, let alone the Olympics.

Norwegian villain-Christina Pedersen

 

Comments

[Ceecee]

IOC and FIFA, the fixes are always in...nuff said

[Bill]

Soccer is the most easiest game to fix & that game & those calls by that moron are proof but FIFA dont care unless they get caught or someone gets the ball rolling & investigates that crap.

Just looking at that photo of her makes me sick.

But Canada had too many lapses, especially on ronaldino goal. The Cdn defender gave her too much space, especially when you are so close to the box. & what was Lyle doing taking a shot on goal when they had a run & Sinclair was open & probably could of got her 4th.

[Jake]

The refereeing was completely sub-par and questionable. Sinclair played the match of her life and kept the Canadian team inspired. Atleast two out of three of her goals were classic ones. Unfortunately a bad referee can kill momentum completely. I wonder if there will ever be any investigation into what happened. I for one, hope that Japan will defeat the USA in the finals. Canada should have been playing for gold. While I dont take anything away from the USA women who had the better stamina through the game, the third goal by Wambach should never have been allowed by the referee. However, I wish the Canadian team had been a little tighter in preventing being scored on. Rapihoe's corner kick should have been stopped. Anyway, heres hoping that Japan beat the US in the finals.

[LDipoce]

Let's not waste another breath on Christina Pederson. Canada won the game.
The fianl score was missing true Olympic Officiating and how easily a soccer referee
alone decided the outcome. THIS WAS A TRAVESTRY of OLYMPIC PROPORTION.

[Geraldo]

Pedersen is the same ref that gave a U.S. player a yellow card for shaking an opposing player's hand in the last World Cup. The game's announcers were puzzled about what the hell that was all about and there was never an explanation as to what it was for. I think it was Abby Wambach that got the card. Maybe I'm misremembering the incident but I do remember noting the ref's name because of how weird it was.

She's kind of a putz. But that's the way soccer goes, sometimes the ref is a putz in your favour, sometimes not.

[biguggy]

The ‘Rules’ are actually called ‘Laws’ and are available here, together with FIFA’s ‘Interpretation of the Laws of the Game and Guidelines for Referees’:
http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/generic/81/42/36/lawsofthegame_2011_12_en.pdf

The ‘Law’ for the goalkeeper keeping possession for more than 6 seconds is covered under Law 12 (page 35 of the above publication), from which it can clearly be seen that no warning or ‘caution’ is required. It could even be argued, successfully, I believe, that to do anything other than award an indirect free kick is contrary to the Laws. Some pundits even say that is why the Law is rarely enforced, because the penalty is so harsh.

Now was it an unusual call, I believe the answer is yes. Was it a legitimate call? I believe it was. Was it applied fairly? I do not believe so, the US ‘keeper kept the ball for longer than 6 seconds in her possession shortly after the incident and was not penalized, is this fair application of the ‘Law’ or is it selective? Did the ref. have her eyes shut all that time, or was she playing favourites? If you are going to be strict, to be fair, you have to be strict with everyone.

Now on to what really irks me, the taking of the free kick. This is covered on page 125 of the above publication. Kicking the ball at an opponent during the correct execution of a free kick is allowed provided it is not ‘careless’, ‘reckless’ or ‘using excessive force’, the FIFA definitions of these terms are given on page 111 of the above publication. It is my contention that the US player who executed the free kick did it in a manner that was at the very least ‘reckless’ and very likely qualified for description (using the FIFA definition) of ‘using excessive force’. Both should have resulted in a free kick to the opposition with a caution (yellow card) for the former and sending off (red card) for the latter. ‘Careless’ play only requires a free kick. Did the referee take any of this into consideration? I do not think so; I believe that the US player who took the free kick did so as hard as she could (or very close to it) at the stationary defending players without regard to the possible injury she could cause to those players. That being said ‘Playing the ball in a dangerous manner’ (page 115 of the above publication) should, in my opinion, also apply to this situation but does not because it only applies to a player ‘trying’ to play the ball.

Just some of my thoughts and observations on the procedure, I would like to be able to call it a game, but the overall performance of the person appointed as a referee makes that impossible. That was the worst performance of a so-called referee in a high-level football game (yes I am a Brit. and it is football to anyone outside N. America) that I have ever seen, and I am now pushing 70 so I have seen a few ‘bad-uns’. It was at only about 5 minutes into the game, when the Canadian player gave the US player a ‘piggy back ride’, that I remarked to my wife that the Canadians were not only playing the US team but the referee as well. I know there were missed calls by the so-called referee that may have benefited the US side had they been made but this, in my opinion, only further solidifies the evidence that Ms Pedersen is, at the very least, incompetent, or perhaps something even worse. Be strict by all means, it will, in my opinion, ‘spoil’ the flow of the game but should it be applied fairly there is little room for complaint.
Would it have made any difference to the outcome of the game if had been officiated fairly? I do not know, the teams were, in my opinion, very close ability wise. However now look at the facts, prior to this game, no team had scored against the US, Canada scored three times. I know the US scored four but one of those was the result of an ‘unusual’ decision followed by complete disregard for the Laws of The Game (just my opinion). Therefore discounting that one goal we have a draw. Now imagine the frustration even the slowest witted, and most generous minded Canadian players must have felt when they eventually realised, and at the end of the ’incident’ there could be little doubt, that they were also ‘playing the ref.’ Additionally, at the end of the ‘incident’, despondency would, I believe not be unnatural together with the fear that they may be penalized for some other little enforced law. On the other side think of the ‘lift’ the US players must have had when they realised that they were unlikely to be penalized, the handball in the US penalty area shortly before the ‘incident’, the ‘incident’ itself, and the flagrant breaking of the six second Law by the US ‘keeper shortly after the incident all would contribute to this and must have ‘knocked the stuffing’ right out of the Canadian girls, but they still tried despite, the by now, blatantly obvious odds against them. My hat goes off to them!

Please note I am not taking anything away from the US team, they also played hard and well and took full advantage of every opportunity they had but they must surely wonder what the result would have been with fair officiating. To those who say Canada would have won I say why are you not billionaires? I believe it was to close to call.