Germany v. Argentina

[Mark Stapleton]

Well, Germany's into the last four but I hope the other teams who play Germany don't have to endure this kind of refereeing. Germany's equaliser was a good goal but prior to that the referee was handing Germany all the close calls. It's supposed to be the world's greatest global sporting event so it shouldn't be marred with blatant displays of home town refereeing like the one witnessed here.

IMO, the better and more skillful team lost. The referee was more interested in being popular. Football was the loser.

[Guest]

Well, Germany's into the last four but I hope the other teams who play Germany don't have to endure this kind of refereeing. Germany's equaliser was a good goal but prior to that the referee was handing Germany all the close calls. It's supposed to be the world's greatest global sporting event so it shouldn't be marred with blatant displays of home town refereeing like the one witnessed here.

IMO, the better and more skillful team lost. The referee was more interested in being popular. Football was the loser.

Sad also to see one Argentinian player offering a German player a fist rather than a handshake at the end of the game

[Ed Waller]

I had been debating (largely with myself - nothing new there) whether it would bew better for England to lose to Germany or Argentina, in the event of two more fortuitous results. I had chosen Germany before today, and admit to being happy with the outcome, if less so with the way (and the spirit in which) the game was played.

[Mark Stapleton]

Well, Germany's into the last four but I hope the other teams who play Germany don't have to endure this kind of refereeing. Germany's equaliser was a good goal but prior to that the referee was handing Germany all the close calls. It's supposed to be the world's greatest global sporting event so it shouldn't be marred with blatant displays of home town refereeing like the one witnessed here.

IMO, the better and more skillful team lost. The referee was more interested in being popular. Football was the loser.

Sad also to see one Argentinian player offering a German player a fist rather than a handshake at the end of the game

I saw this incident. While I don't condone it, I can understand the frustration of the Argentinian players. The referee was penalising or even yellow carding tackles by Argentinians and allowing similar tackles by German players. Taken in isolation, these incidents appear to be trivial but when aggregated they amount to a substantial advantage, IMO.

If visiting teams aren't going to get a fair deal from referees and line officials, then why should they be gracious and polite after the game? Why don't FIFA save time and just award the trophy to Germany now? If England meets Germany in the final, you would expect the referee to call the game as he sees it, not as the crowd wants him to see it. You might be in for a nasty surprise.

[Francesca Akhtar]

Well, Germany's into the last four but I hope the other teams who play Germany don't have to endure this kind of refereeing.

I hope so too. I really don't want a repeat of South Korea in 2002 when the referee gave everything to the home side in their match against Italy. (not that I'm biased

I wasn't sure who I'd rather have won and face Italy. On the face of it probably Germany because Italy beat them recently but that was in Italy and now they will have the home advantage. It's going to be a tough match.

IMO, the better and more skillful team lost. The referee was more interested in being popular. Football was the loser.

Yes I agree, I was sad to see Argentina go out in a way.

[John Simkin]

I had been debating (largely with myself - nothing new there) whether it would bew better for England to lose to Germany or Argentina, in the event of two more fortuitous results. I had chosen Germany before today, and admit to being happy with the outcome, if less so with the way (and the spirit in which) the game was played.

I think the result will help England as I could not see us beating Argentina. However, I do think we stand a good chance against Germany. I think both Rooney and Cole can unlock Germany's defence. At the sametime our defence should be able to handle Germany's attack. However, first we have to beat Portugal and Brazil.

[Guest]

If visiting teams aren't going to get a fair deal from referees and line officials, then why should they be gracious and polite after the game?

Graciousness in defeat and victory and consideration for the opponent are the very essence of sporting conduct. If they are not present then they might as well just have a fight.