Futbol/Soccer Fans: What do you hate most...

[Dannyalcatraz]

And in the latest news, in order to prevent disruption of the game, FIFA has announced they won't be putting replays of controversial plays in the stands for the rest of the World Cup.

Cowards.

And it looks like pressure is coming in from all sides.
Bad-call blues: FIFA urged to allow video replay - Yahoo! News

 

[Orius]

I don't mind that. I don't even mind it when a team adopts a keep-away strategy to play out the clock. At least there still playing. At least there's the chance they can make a mistake, or a bad pass, or the other team can take it away.

The way I see it, if one team manages to successfully keep the ball away from the other team even if they're not scoring, then the other team sucks. Or at least their offense sucks. Really, it's a matter of getting a goal or touchdown or whatever, and then making the choice either to keep scoring or preventing the other team from scoring.

I would say that deliberately wasting time in the game where there's no real opportunities for either team to make meaningful plays is cheap, but it also depends on the game's rules.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

Well, the dives are truly what I hate most, but that's too easy.

After that it is the offside rule. It just seems a little too...I can't come up with the right word...interpretive. I keep thinking there should be a point, perhaps once the ball is past the line for the penalty area, where the position of the defenders should no longer matter. If they fall asleep and let an attacking player get behind them, too bad for them.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

That would make for a higher scoring game, to be sure.

 

[drothgery]

That would make for a higher scoring game, to be sure.

Heck, I'd ditch the offsides rule and allow hockey/basketball-style free substitution.

 

[jaerdaph]

The flops are getting as bad as the end zone dances have in the NFL.

 

[Jdvn1]

I'm not a fan of the flops, but I don't hate them.

Nowadays, at least, it seems like a ref won't call a foul unless you flop. If you get elbowed in the face? No foul. If you get elbowed in the face and fall over? Foul. Flops are merely a way to get the ref's attention for a foul.

Unwarranted flops are different, of course.

What bugs me most about the sport is that it's hard to catch a game on TV! I don't get enough of it! Though, I'd appreciate teams being allowed more subs. Being allowed to change strategy during the game rather than only realistically being able to change strategy during halftime would be interesting. And, it's not as fun to watch exhausted players as it is fresh players.

I'd also appreciate more refs (better calls) and the ability for a ref to change his mind.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

OK...in all my years playing, watching and loving the game, this never came up, but it did in today's matches. Moving to the second spot on my list besides dives/flops comes the intentional handball to STOP a goal.

It has moved into this place not because it is prevalent, or that refs don't catch it (though that does happen). It has moved into that spot on my list of most hated things because the penalty for doing so is in no way commensurate with the offense.

In basketball, if you goaltend and get caught, the shot you blocked gets added to the score- your action is completely nullified.

In football, if you come off the sidelines to tackle a player who is running down the field with no defenders nearby, and prevent the touchdown, the touchdown will still be awarded. And you get a penalty.

In hockey, where the equivalent is throwing the stick to block a shot on an open goal, the penalty is the awarding of a point to the non-offending team. Even on a Penalty Shot, the ref can still award the non-offending team a point if the goalie cheats 3 times while attempting to stop the Penalty Shot.

Don't get me wrong- the Red Card was justified. It just wasn't enough. It should be Red Card for the offending player PLUS the award of a goal- you simply should never be allowed to gain a benefit from this egregious a penalty.

 

[Joker]

Don't get me wrong- the Red Card was justified. It just wasn't enough. It should be Red Card for the offending player PLUS the award of a goal- you simply should never be allowed to gain a benefit from this egregious a penalty.

A red card is pretty serious. With evenly matched teams it pretty much means a death sentence for the offending side. And the offending player can miss several games depending on what the jury finds.

And if it's done within the box the other team gets a penalty which most of the time means a goal.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Any deliberate handball in the penalty area is punishable by a red card. One that actually stops a goal from being scored should not be allowed to negate the goal as well.