Everything you need to know about the beautiful game of football.
Here's the reason why I love football so much: it's continuous. Unlike American football, golf, tennis, and baseball, it barely has breaks. The players are free to play, well, free. There are some stops: fouls, throw-ins, corner kicks and penalty kicks. However, those barely ever take long. Also, they're part of the game, so in a way, it's still continuous. However, many domestic leagues in the United States are attempting to implement an aspect in the game that would- at points- slow the game down. Major League Soccer, the North American Soccer League and the United Soccer League have made an intention to implement video replays in football. It was used during a USL match between the New York Red Bulls II and Orlando City B. In the match, the head referee- Ismail Elfath- communicated with the video assistant referee (VAR) about two controversial calls. The first was when Orlando City B's Conor Donovan committed a foul on Junior Flemings, right outside the penalty box, but still close enough for a scoring opportunity. Elfath used the video replay and made his call, giving Donovan a straight red card, which sent him out of the match. All of this happened in the 36' minute, with still plenty of game left. Later in the 82' minute of the match, Elfath used the replay again to see if a red card should be shown to Orlando City B's Kyle McFadden. McFadden made a challenge on the ball, and was looking at a red card. However, after the replay, Elfath only gave McFadden a yellow card (a warning, of sorts. Two yellow cards equal one red card). For five more matches in their season, the New York Red Bulls II used video replay. Personally, I think the use of video replay is good. I don't think it should be over-used. For example, referees are trained to know when to give a player a red card or a yellow card. Video replay shouldn't be used each time the referee is about to hand out a card. I like video replay for determining if a penalty in the box is worth a penalty kick. Today, Borussia Mönchengladbach hosted Fiorentina at Borussia-Park. It was their first leg match of their Europa League games. During the match, Gladbach forward Patrick Herrmann was fouled in the penalty area by Fiorentina's Maxi Olivera. However, the referee said to keep going. In that stance, video replay would have been perfect. Fans back at home saw on the screen that Olivera's challenge was indeed worth a penalty kick. Video replay is something that domestic football in the United States should spearhead. Maybe other nations will take note, and video replays will be used there. One can only hope, especially with the plentiful amounts of technology and cameras in those arenas. Information on the video replay from NYRB II vs. Orlando City B can be found by clicking here.
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About Me
20-year-old football enthusiast living in the United States. I try to get Americans to say "football" and not "soccer." Archives
May 2017
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