Byron Bay Australia

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Byron Bay Community Issues & News Wednesday, June 28, 2006 Socceroos stopped. Go Australia! So, they're out. Taken out in a cruel manner; taken to the gallows in the final moments. No retaliation, no reprise. Lots of calls of cheating, diving, and amatuer dramatics... but it was a foul. The italian striker was completely obstructed by a defender who never contacted the ball. That, is a foul. Furthermore, 5m to the right of the Italian striker stood another striker; unmarked and infront of an open goal. A simple pinball-flick pass with the outside of his right foot - and it would have been unmissable. Australia played a water tight game, but were never on the offensive. Italy never seemed in any real trouble, and it was never noticible that Italy played with one man less for all that time. As for the dubious referee decisioning (throughout the tournament and the sport), I personally love it. I relish that so much depends on an immediate opinion of one man. I thoroughly enjoy the 'human' touch this give the game. It what helps give the passion; the pains, the frustrations, the disbeliefs. It makes the game more of a game. FIFA did trial electronic refereeing and replay-judging, but eventually decided against it. Their reason was that football is all about flow. A shot on goal can be a culmination of several plays, of strategies, of players all moving to be in certain places at a certain time - and FIFA think that this would be jeopardised. I personally believe that electronic refereeing is inevitable but, for the time being, I enjoy the pros & cons of not having it. The flatulating redneck Alan Jones made me laugh 'the morning after' when once again releasing his mustard-gas of opinions: Feeling justified to say anything on the subject of football, despite obviously having no prior experience or knowledge - he stated that 'football has a long way to go to convince the international market to invest in it' (or words to that effect). Sorry Alan. It has long since been the biggest sport on the planet, the most participated sport on the planet, the richest sport on the planet, and the World Cup is easily the largest single sporting event on the planet. Anyway, my distain for the man distracts me. The real winner from the 2006 World Cup is Australia. Blossoming with the lack of pressure and expectation (which so often disables other countries), the Socceroos played world class football. They tuned in & turned on the country to a new passion, and they did this from very humble beginnings. The generations rising through now? Things are on the up & up, and judging how Australia fairs at any sport it dedicates itself too, I say it now has a permanent home at the FIFA World Cup. posted by Glider @ 10:25 AM