Horns, refs, form & balls: the problems with this World Cup

The use of vuvuzelas is not only antisocial, it is selfish and offensive. It is my custom to go to the toilet each day also, but there is a time and a place for such things. Saying something is a custom is just south africa's way of baring its butt in the face of the rest of the world.

Taking up the main points of this article: 1) The vuvuzela: for goodness sake, young man. You will be a grumpy old fogey soon enough and hopefully for long enough. You are evidently much younger than me (my odometer is about to click over to a new decade) so please accept this old git's advice that your youth should not be spent bitching about such inconsequential matters. And anyway what part of soccer's "unique supporter culture" is being "drowned out" by vuvuzelas? Chants of "You're going to get your f***ing heads kicked in!", "The famine's over, why don't you go home" and the perennial favourite "Who's the n***er with the ball?" Frankly that is part of the vulgarity that is an inseparable accompaniment to soccer's popularity that we should welcome being reduced to futility by something as exuberant as a loud blasting horn. I find that after a month, the persistent moans of those complaining about vuvuzelas are a greater irritation than the instrument itself. 2) On inconsistent refereeing, I actually think some of the controversies of this world cup could be a blessing in disguise in that FIFA will now be embarrassed into introducing some form of technological review process into games at the top level. Their insistence that there must be one rule and a common means of administration for all matches from the World Cup final to the lowliest park league in the most modest of shanty towns is disingenuous nonsense. The great strength of soccer is that it is a street game played by people of all ages and nationalities and all abilities. Most people's playing experiences, in this part of the world anyway, are of the "jumpers for goalposts" variety, with "Fly goalkeepers" (I think they call them "rush goalkeepers" in England) and no such luxury as referee or linesmen. The idea that having video replays at the top levels will undermine the grass roots is farcical. The linesemen at this world cup have actually been very good at getting most of the offside calls, traditionally the most controversial of decisions, correct. To the extent that I suspect FIFA had introduced some sort of training program or methodology to help officials make the correct decision quickly. The glaring example where they got it wrong was Carlos Teves' goal for Argentina against Mexico. But that was a most atypical situation. Usually a tight offside call involves a player receiving the ball in an offside position having run on to it from an onside position. In Teves' case, he was in an onside position when he played the ball, having run away from the goal while two defenders were running back towards it. However, he was offside when the ball was played to him so the goal should have been disallowed. The point is, that the linesmen are conditioned to respond to players running into offside positions, not onside ones, so the error in this case was understandable. A quick look at a video replay would have sorted this out. I also think that post match reviews of yellow and red card incidents could at least prevent compounding errors. For example a harsh red or yellow could not be rescinded from the context of the game itself but at least any suspensions that would normally ensue could be set aside. That would help to level out the worst of refereeing inconsistencies. 3) Underperforming stars. This is often an issue, with those who were expected to shine failing to do so. However, it is usually offset by other players taking up the mantle. Sometimes it can be younger players, like some of the young Germans in particular Oezil and Muller. Other times it can be longer established stars whose day we might have thought had passed reminding us of their continued potency. Examples here would include, outstandingly Klose of Germany and Forlan of Uruguay. 4) The ball. This seems to crop up at every world cup as some ball manufacturer cashes in on marketing terms with a radical new design. It didn't prevent some stupendous goals being scored. Nor did it make them possible. By way of example, have a look at Giovanni Von Bronckhorst's wonderful strike against Uruguay (Go on! Treat yourself!) and then see if you can spot any difference at all to this one that he did nearly 10 years ago. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdWVc8j4P44) Fast forward to 5 mins 20 seconds if you don't want to see the other three goals. He didn't seem to need a Jabulani ball back then. All in all, I think this has been a great world cup. For the first time EVER, none of the big four (Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Italy) has made it to the final. We will have a new name on the trophy, and it will belong to one of the teams that has done most to play football the way it should be played. For all the nastiness of the midfield hardmen De Jong and Van Bommel, the Dutch have played some great football, especially via Robben and Sneijder. And the Spanish can all play as well. A final to look forward to. And a tournament to look back on with pleasure. At least for us neutrals. :)

people have blown on those

I find it interesting that even though this has been a highly successful world cup some people only have time to complain about what doesn't fit in with their idea of how the world cup should be. One of the world cup local organising commitee members has come out and said that she feels the world cup has been the victim of afro pessimism at the highest level, she goes on to mention that the British media in particular has gone out of it's way to undermine the success of the tournament. The bias of this article defies belief, how do you begin a review of a tournament by focusing on the negative whilst making no mention of positives. The journalist might be interested to know that the questionnaires filled by tourists indicate that they had an amazing time here, I even had a work colleague tell me about an Australian (ironic I know) he met who said he has had the most awesome time in this country and would recommend it to all his friends for holidays. All the reviews I have ever read begin by mentioning what went right at an event, before mentioning drawbacks, prior to mentioning what one might do differently in future to improve the experience. By the way the vuvuzela was invented by the Shembe tribe and used by them aince the begining of the last century around 1910 I think, they recently won a case against the South African supplier who produces it, those who are interested can google shembe and the vuvuzela and see what comes up.

Absolutely - Aussie oi is the lamest chant in the history of the universe!

Yep, I can confirm the stupid 'VUVUZELA' horns were being sold in Australia in 1988, for the Australian Bicentennial Celebrations on 26th January 1988. I remember, because I still own one, and I bought it on that day, down at Circular Quay, Sydney city. I was 16 at the time, and getting around on my skateboard, blowing the damn thing, with a group of mates. There was a big group (50 guys) of us on skateboards, blowing horns and skating through the crowds. - some people may remember us! It's absolute garbage that these horns only came out in 2001 (see wikipedia article). The horn I own from 1988 is EXACTLY the same as the current VUVUZELA horn. It appears to have come from the same mould. I'd say China factories have gone into overdrive, as some savy marketers saw the opportunity to flog these on the streets in South Africa before the cup. Sad really !

Give me a vuvuzela over aussie, aussie, aussie, oi,oi,oi (the like 2022 chant should the FFA win the bid) any day of the week

SCG Confisgated Property should have thousands......

Does anyone know where i can buy a vuvuzela in Sydney?

They've also been using the ball in Japan's league for the past season, haven't they? I agree it's helped keep scores low. Doesn't seem to bend much for free kicks, and zooms upwards at will with powerful strikes. Occasionally it has aided the player, like with Holman's ripper of a goal, but generally not. Also there seem to have been an awful lot of missed penalties at this Cup, both in shootouts and during matches. Wonder if that has a relation?

you know, back in 1988 we had those damn plastic horns in Sydney for the Bicentennial...they are not new and have been around forever.. New Years, any massive public gathering in Sydney.... you get the drift.. sure it might be made slightly different and make a different sound, but a horn is a horn... banned at all footy and cricket matches since 2000 (at the big stadiums) they wont be making a comeback here.....

Just had a phone call from my brother back home (groningen, holland) he says vuvus are becoming very popular there and accross the country side. People are now starting to blow them at some club games. Maybe at some ajax matches later this year too, hopefully. Ive grown to like them. And maybe the vuvus are a new trend in world soccer.

The amazing aspect of the vuvuzela is the way that fans from outside Africa have taken to the damn things, you have them now in every team and country colour, Americans want them at baseball games etc etc. Interesting that when the Bulls played S14 in Soweto they were there in their thousands but were banned at the Springbok vs France test in Cape Town. Next month the Boks are playing the All Blacks at Soccer City and I do not see them being banned there. It would just be wrong!

1. Vuvuzelas sound horrible on TV. However I took the decision to turn the sound almost completely off. There has been an unexpected benefit: I've realised how much better the viewing experience is when I can't hear the commentators. By and large they don't identify the players often enough to be useful for that purpose, they are often wrong about the reasons for infringements and they are usually not helpful about what is going on tactically. I get more sense talking to my kids or my brother over the phone. So folks, make the break! Abolish the vuvuzela and the superfluous commentary in one fell swoop of the volume control. 2. As someone who has been a referee and who still referees occasionally I appreciate that it is an impossible job. I think the standard in the World Cup has been pretty good in the circumstances. I suspect that improvement will happen only when FIFA increases the number of officials or allows video refereeing. This could be used during the game and/or for retrospective sanctions. However as FIFA is inherently a conservative monolith I'm not holding my breath. As an aside might I suggest that anybody purporting to provide expert analysis should actually know the laws of the game. I would make it a condition of employment by SBS for all its analysts to have passed a referee's exam. It's so exasperating when they are expertly wrong about the rules. 3. Who cares if the "stars" underperform? The great thing is that it is a team game and that if a star is in a team which is not functioning they can't perform. A bad world cup doesn't make Messi less than the best player in the world. 4. The jabulani! So many leagues already had exclusive contracts stopping them from using it . You can see the benefit for the Germans of the Bundesliga having used it since its release. However it's not that simple. If familiarity is the issue then how come Bresciano's free kicks were on target and how did Honda and Endo do so well with theirs? How did they cope when so many others haven't? FIFA's greed will mean that this problem will happen every 4 years. Maybe players will learn for the next World Cup that they actually need to practise with the ball as soon as it is released.

the only problem with the World cup is your whining

The vuvuzelas are really a problem for TV as you tend to ignore them and be amongst the other action at the ground. There are as many foreigners blowing the things as South Africans. Oddly enough the Asian referees haven't done a bad job and have been singled out for praise by the pundits on South African tv.

1 Vuvus - a pandora's box has been opened. Flew home from Singapore last week with a man carrying 10 of them taped together as his carry on luggage. They are like Aids, the Hendra Virus, Bird Flu, Swine Flu and backwards baseball caps. 2 Refereeing - hello? The nature of the game. Show me some statistics that demonstrate that this is any worse than the last 5 world cups. Hand of God? Diving Italians? 3 yellow cards? 1966 Final? Ring any bells? 3 Underperforming stars - Only 4 teams left. Somebody had to go home! (Although I must admit that Rooney was a huge disappointment.) Ronaldo scored one more goal for Portugal in the WC than he has in the last 40 internationals. Kaka was great. Klose is about to set an all time WC goal scoring record. Harry Kewell was... (sorry, couldn't resist) 4) Jabulanis - storm in a teacup. See 2 above - show me some statistics on 'blasting onto the stands' and I will believe you. I counter with Suarez v South Korea, Kaka vs Croatia, Podolski vs ? and plenty of others

Whilst agreeing in some ways with some of your comments, I am amazed you did not comment on the COACHES and their respective negative demands upon their players and thus a problem also I looked up the laws of the game from its inception and its common to say "The object of the game is to score by driving the ball into the opposing goal. In general play" I looked in my old copies "Know the Game" by the FA and the FIFA "Laws of the Game" They say "Scoring goals is the object of football - The side scoring the greater number being the winner. It does NOT say STOPPING GOALS as being an object albeit a part of the game. Yes just a PART I guess my point is that when any coach choses to gather a squad and includes 4 keepers and just two strikers and plays accordingly, then we are going to get negative the football. We witnessed from both Australia and England negative tactics along with France and Italy Some Coaches have a lot to answer for in this fine game and like many comments made on these pages THEY need to consider their contribution to the sport I am convinced the last eight are thre through their coaches interpretation of the "object of the game" hence Germany should and will win. I live in hope that The A League will stand to be counted this coming seaon and that the Club Coaches reflect what the game is all about "GOALS"

I read somewhere that the host broadcaster (cant remember their name) decided to double the sound 'damping' on the vuvu's and also double the effects microphone settings on the field to get more 'football noises' (kicks etc) into the broadcast and less horns. Pretty sure that was after the first or second round of the group games so the perception that the vuvu's are less noticeable is not due to getting used to them but because they have been muted to a degree. The article also said that the broadcaster wasnt very happy about doing it that way as they like to try to recreate the actual sounds of the stadiums to the TV viewers but the decision was taken because the vuvu's were just too intrusive. Edit: just found a link. the company is called Host Broadcast Services. http://www.startribune.com/sports/worldcup/96377024.html?elr=KArksi8cyaiUBcy7h_0O8UiacyKUnciatkEP7DhUr