The main players of the World Cup last week also gave football fans a lot of good games and beautiful goals, there were dynamic and uncertain matches, but also those in which the favorites circled around the walls of the outsiders for a long time and without ideas, but the overall impression and spectacle were overshadowed by the numerous achievements of the World Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) and the government of the main host - the United States of America. The already accumulated dissatisfaction was compounded last week by the controversial decisions and oversights of the referees in the elimination round, and then by FIFA's decision, under the pressure of the US president and his associates, to virtually cancel the red card for US football player Folarin Balogun and allow him to play in the round of 16 match against Belgium. All that diverted the attention of the public from the game and the results.
RED LINE CROSSED
It started with the harassment of the Iranian national team, the first team and coaches of Uzbekistan went through the "hot rabbit" of the US administration, and the US Immigration Service prevented several players and referee Omar Artan from Somalia from entering the country. Although he encouraged the Iranians to endure and participate until the end, FIFA President Gianni Infantino flattered Donald Trump much more and did not for a single moment think that he would unconditionally demand equal treatment of all national teams and fight for Judge Artan, and he relaxed when the World Cup fever gripped half the planet and the game pushed affairs and controversies into the background.
But the devil knocked on Infantino's door: from the day Balogun received a card in the match of the round of 16 with Bosnia and Herzegovina, the cancellation campaign started, as well as what was later revealed - pressure from Trump and other US officials on the FIFA president and his associates. And in order for Infantino not to do to his partner, even if he had to do legal acrobatics and an unprecedented precedent, FIFA referred to Article 27 of the Disciplinary Regulations and suspended the execution of the punishment for a one-year probationary period, so that Balogun was available to the coach. Trump himself admitted that he called Infantino several times, and after the decision on the abolition of the American first team, he announced on his social network his gratitude to Fifa, because "she did what was right and reversed a great injustice!"
The Belgian Football Association reacted and said that this decision was in direct contradiction to the rules that prescribe automatic suspension after a direct red card, and coach Rudy Garcia concluded that it was not only the interest of his national team but "the defense of the ethics and integrity of football". UEFA (European Federation of Football Associations) also reacted strongly, expressing disbelief at the incomprehensible and unjustified exception and stressing that FIFA's decision on the conditional suspension "crossed the red line, because football, like any other sport, is based on rules that are the basis of fair, honest and transparent competition." UEFA points out that "the rules can sometimes be open to different interpretations, but in this case the minimum automatic suspension of one match after a red card is not a discretionary option, its implementation does not require a decision by the competent body" and concludes that "people trust football, because everywhere is played according to the same rules".
Many experts, players, media, fans also reacted, some federations requested that their players' cards be suspended, but fortunately Belgium "brushed off" the USA (4:1) in the round of 16, all with Balogun, and thus prevented further consequences of the disputed decision. Fifa's scandal remains and it will be talked about for a long time, but the question is how much the already substantial baggage of the affair that is dragging behind Infantina and his team will affect their positions, especially since part of the substantial income from the mammoth World Cup reaches the accounts of associations, clubs, players, coaches...
WELD WELDING
The scandal with the American player was preceded by outpourings of dissatisfaction from several national teams due to disputed decisions and referee criteria, mostly in favor of the more powerful football nations, and the most drastic example is the disallowed goal of Croatia in the duel with Portugal, all because of a chip in the ball that registered the touch of the Croatian player's hair, and that was the reason for being ruled offside. And Croatia was literally narrowly eliminated from further competition, and if the goal had been conceded, it would have been 2:2 and most likely it would have gone to overtime, because it was scored in the last seconds of stoppage time in the second half. But the Video Assistant Referee decided to give priority to the information from the sensor in the ball, which said that the Croatian player Igor Matanović touched the ball with his hair before it reached his teammate.
Detecting contact with the help of sensors helps with suspicious hand plays or checking whether the ball has caught a player on the way to the goal, and it is undeniably a good function of the assistant video referee, but in the case of the Croatian national team, a clear FIFA rule was ignored, which states that "hair is considered part of the body only if it affects the movement or trajectory of the ball and that is probably only in cases of significant contact with a large amount of hair, such as a bun on the top of the head". It is not possible to see with the naked eye whether the ball touched a strand of hair, but it is clear that Matanović did not influence the trajectory of the ball. Both the referees and the delegate had to know that, especially since it was a goal that decided the winner.
But as former international judge Raka Đurović says - you asked, look! "We were looking for new technologies, so we got a sensor in the ball. Some will say that the charm of football has been killed, and it is, but we wanted modern technologies, and now we have modern football. We got a sensor in the ball, we have to trust it. I was against it, for me, VAR should only exist for situations like whether the ball crossed the goal line and the like, but now it has been introduced for situations that are not measured with a ruler, which are less than a millimeter, as is obvious a hair of the Croatian player's hair", explained Đurović.
In the last seven years, modern technology has changed football, not only correcting mistakes and oversights by referees, which is its basic function, but also disrupting the game with long breaks for checking and frustrating players and fans: you score a goal, rejoice with your teammates and fans, and then you wait to be told that you were offside by less than a millimeter or that you touched the ball by a hair, and that your exaltation because of the goal was in vain. And Arsene Wenger, a big coaching name and FIFA's director for global football development for several years, announces changes in the application of video technology, because he believes that "the soul of the game is damaged by extremely narrow decisions". And that's why VAR deserves a special text after the World Cup.
FAVORITES IN THEIR PLACE
Between the two issues of our weekly magazine, most of the round of 16 and round of 16 matches were played, and while this text goes to press on Tuesday evening, three quarterfinal pairs are known: France and Morocco, Spain and Belgium, and Norway and England. The fourth pair will consist of Argentina and the winner of the match between Switzerland and Colombia.
In the very final, there were teams that were counted among the favorites (France, Spain, England) and those that can no longer be considered as surprises (Morocco and Norway), and Belgium surprised to some extent, especially after a bad start and after luck looked at them in the finish of the already almost lost game with Senegal, in the round of 16 - from 0:2 to 3:2. That turnaround obviously motivated and united the Belgian national team, which many had written off before the championship, so they convincingly beat the favored hosts (4:1) in the round of 16 and practically fulfilled even the most optimistic forecasts.
Norwegian football has been showing great progress for years, and the 100% performance of the national team in the qualifiers and the great opening games at the World Cup have brought the team led by killer scorer Erling Haaland - the status of favorites. They especially proved that in the match of the round of 16 with Brazil, regardless of the fact that "carioca" was better with bookmakers and the sentimental football public. Against the "masters of football", the new masters of football from the north of Europe kept the ball in their possession for two thirds of the game, through the lark, as if they were Brazilians, they brought the ball out of their own half and created an attack, and in the end deservedly celebrated with 2:1, with two masterful goals by Haaland.
England played another memorable match, after the one against Croatia in the first round, and defeated the excellent team of Mexico (3:2) at the crowded "Azteca" stadium in Mexico City, at 2240 meters above sea level. Harry Kane leads the team of stars, and he himself finally established the status of a big star after, on American soil, like football's Doc Holliday, he sifted through the networks of rivals.
The Spanish national team does not impress, but it certainly wins, it is the only team that did not concede a goal, and to a large extent its World Cup journey so far resembles that of South Africa, when it won its first title. And France is the surest step towards the final so far, and has already firmly taken the first place on the list of favorites among the professional public, as well as bookmakers. The Argentinians were safe in the group and, led by the unreal football connoisseur Lionel Messi, recorded three victories, but in the round of 16 they showed their vulnerable side and defeated the Cape Verde Islands with great difficulty. However, after a surprising turnaround against the extraordinary Egypt - they were losing 2:0 in the 80th minute of the game - they remained in the race to defend the title, again thanks mostly to Messi.
photo: ap photoTHE REPRESENTATION GOES HOME: Egyptian fans after defeat by Argentina
THEY SUCCEEDED.
And while Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands and Uruguay disappointed their fans and let down the bettors who go for the "safeguard", several national teams exceeded all expectations and gave the right to the organizers, which enabled the "third world" to get more places at the World Cup. First, the selection of the Cape Verde Islands (Cabo Verde), which first in the group surprised the powerful Spain, then Uruguay and Saudi Arabia, taking a point from all of them, and then in the round of 16, in one of the best matches at the World Cup, they struck fear into the bones of the current world champions, the Argentinians, and forced them into extra time. She lost 3:2, but she won the hearts of viewers around the world and immensely pleased about half a million compatriots from the small country-archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, near the African coast.
The team of the Democratic Republic of Congo certainly exceeded its goals: in the group stage they drew with Portugal and beat Uzbekistan, then in the round of 16 they led against England until 15 minutes before the end, and then succumbed to the murderous Kane (2:1). Egypt was also successful, regardless of the defeat by Argentina in the round of 16: the Egyptians proved themselves already in the group and finally in the fourth participation recorded their first victory and passed the group stage for the first time, and then skipped the round of 16 (Australia 1:1, penalties 4:2) and entered the 16 best national teams in the world.
They can also be satisfied in the camp of Bosnia and Herzegovina, because the team did not sulk, on the contrary, it showed the strength of unity and great potential, which can be capitalized in a few years, if the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina keeps coach Sergej Barbarez and in the same atmosphere wait for the maturation of young stars - Barjaktarević, Alejbegović, Mahmić, Malić...
12 selectors have been written off so far
Failures in major competitions usually break down on the coach, and this was confirmed during the 23rd World Cup. Tunisia coach Sabri Lamouchy was the first to be sacked, after a convincing defeat in the first round against Sweden (5:1), and his place was also replaced by a Frenchman, Herve Renard, but he also recorded two defeats and then also resigned.
Miroslav Koubek (Czech Republic), Hong Myung-bo (South Korea), Steve Clark (Scotland) and Marcelo Bielsa (Uruguay) resigned after elimination in the group stage, and after elimination in the round of 16, Ronald Koeman (Netherlands), Vladimir Petković (Algeria), Hugo Bros (South Africa), Carlos Queiroz (Ghana), and Julian Nagelsmann (Germany) followed in their footsteps. Javier Aguirre also resigned after Mexico was eliminated by England in the round of 16.
Most of them experienced criticism from the football and general public at home due to their failure, and the replaced South Korean coach fared the worst. Serious death threats were sent to him via social networks, and several hundred disgruntled fans gave him a painful welcome at the airport in Seoul. President Lee Jae-myung demands an investigation into how taxpayers' money was wasted on the team that prepared the party for them, and state television even blurs Hong Myung-bo's face in the reports, as if he were a criminal.
On the other hand, for the successes he achieved with the Colombian national team, Argentine coach Nestor Lorenzo was awarded with honorary Colombian citizenship.
Shame on Paraguayans
And while from the majority of national teams the so-called small countries heard remarks, mostly justified, that the "big powers" are still favored by judges and organizers, an outsider in the round of 16 got the opportunity to literally beat a better team without any sanctions and to obstruct the game to the maximum. We are talking about the Paraguayan team, which was already considered "anti-football" and used procrastination, simulation and other petty nonsense, which was felt by the favored teams of Turkey and Germany at the World Cup, but the "bunker" against France surpassed everything that had already been seen from them and was "seasoned" with scenes of hitting, pulling and provoking rivals, as well as acting, twisting and procrastination that completely killed the game. All this was clearly visible, but the main referee on the field and the assistant referees in the VAR room turned a blind eye to that violence and bestiality. In the end, however, the world vice-champions celebrated, with only one goal scored, and that was from the penalty spot.
