This World Cup week is the most soccer I’ve watched over my entire life. I’m hardly an expert but I have a major gripe…red cards. Red cards are too powerful and they are given out like candy at Halloween. In hockey, when you commit a penalty, you spend up to 5 minutes in the penalty box and your team is at a man disadvantage for that period of time. Major penalty’s can last 1/12 of the entire game and this is a MAJOR penalty. Red cards leave your team an entire man down for the duration of the game. If you get a red card in the first minute of the game your team plays a man down for 99% of the game. There isn’t even a rule where the other team scores and you get your man back. Oh wait, and he can’t even play in the team’s next game!
A rule is a rule, I understand that, but refs are throwing out these red cards on fouls that aren’t even fouls! Watch these two clips from 2 games over the past 2 days. Remember, there have only been 6 games and this happened in two of them!
Now naturally I wouldn’t have that much of a stance on this other than it’s ridiculous but this is costing me money. When you bet on a game and this absurdity happens and your team is down a man for the rest of the game, you know you are fucked. This feeling in me when I see 10 v 11 is how I know this red card shit is what makes me hate soccer. Aside from the constant flopping to draw fouls, the refs hand out cards for virtually nothing. I would be fine if a red card was given for tackling someone who is on a breakaway scoring opportunity. Or a headbutt when someone wasn’t looking. Song’s elbow was red card worthy except HE FAILED TO EVEN MAKE CONTACT! Sure he was trying to be a dick but he didn’t even do it properly. Yellow card him but don’t ruin the game over it.
I know there are die hard soccer fans out there and I hope they read this post because if you want an opinion on why soccer isn’t nearly as good as you think it is, there’s one.
I wouldn’t go as far as to say they “hand them out like candy”. There’s ~15-20 given out in a given World Cup during a total of 64 matches. 2 or 3 matches out of 10 have a red card.
The thing of it is, all the players know what will draw a yellow card and a red card. Song threw a punch during the play for literally no reason. Whether he makes contact or not, he knows he can’t do it, and the ref has to throw him out.
I think the first yellow card in the Greece game was kind of BS, but they played the majority of the game a man down and almost freakin’ won even though Japan was favored going in.
Pretty much, as someone who’s also not a huge fan of soccer, red cards aren’t a big reason I don’t watch soccer.
Pick another penalty for a red card. You don’t think the entire game is compromised by a red card? You don’t think the reason players flop as often as they do is because the positive of flopping and getting a free kick AND POTENTIALLY GETTING YOUR OPPONENT THROWN OUT OF THE GAME as seen on these two plays is a problem?
I agree that there’s a better solution than to show a red card and kick a player out. It can change the game but I think it’s part of the game that will never change that the players know. Also, soccer is different from other sports where being down a man doesn’t mean you are absolutely done. You’re definitely at a disadvantage but it’s not like the game is over right then and there.
With Song, imagine if someone in the NBA came up behind another player and did what he did? I think they’d have to eject him and he’d probably get fined.
They’d still play 5v5. Only game I can think of where a team is mismatched for an extended period of time.
penalty’s? get it together TC.