Some disjointed stuff on the 2010 World Cup

I find it amusing that so much debate rages on about Luis Suarez' handling of the ball that could have won it for Ghana. How is that different from: 

1) the Hack-a-Shaq that has been employed by almost every NBA team?

2) that La Salle defender who tackled Gerrard Cancio who was about to go one-on-one with the La Salle keeper just outside the box? He was red carded and Ateneo missed the free kick.

The point is, you do what you can within the bounds of the game. If there is an infraction then you get penalized for it. Is there a written code on physical play? None. That is open to interpretation. Officials allow varying degrees of that. Would it have made a difference is Uruguay was up 10-nil and Suarez still touched the ball inside the box? He'd still be carded for it but I doubt he would be pilloried for that by pundits. However, Suarez making light of what he did afterwards was like Thierry Henry celebrating after his own Hand of God moment. So let's see how this pans out for the South Americans.


One of the few times the referees got the handball call right and now post-match they are lambasting FIFA for not suspending Suarez for another match. Why? Whether you handle the ball deliberately or not, you are carded for it. Suspended one match even. Ask Australia's Harry Kewell.

If ever, the blame should be made on Asamoah Gyan for missing the penalty. Ghana had it lucky by beating two teams via penalty kicks -- Australia and Slovenia. And they lost via penalty kicks too.

Face it, Ghana. You lost. Now get over it. 

Arjen Robben a diver? Well, I would agree to that but not during the match against Brazil. At least the countries that dive the most -- Italy and Slovenia -- are out. Sometimes, I wonder if we are in a swimming event competition with all the diving going on. 

I know that FIFA does not like governments meddling into their national sports association affairs that's why they were swift to ban Nigeria after the Nigerian government suspended their national team for poor play. But who watches the watchmen? FIFA is filled with so much controversy. All they have to do is look at the Asian Football Confederation and see how corrupt it is. And there's our very own Pera For Football (PFF). 

And Juninho saying that Dunga is like Domenech. People like Juninho and Alan Shearer should come out in the open way before the competition and trash the manager. Not after it. Hindsight is after all 20/20. 

And post-Write the Future -- that gorgeous Nike football ad prior to the start of the 2010 World Cup. So much for the Estadio Cristiano Ronaldo. And is Wayne Rooney now a hobo? And Cannavaro is now with Al-Ahli Dubai. So much for the nightclub act. As awesome a production as Write the Future is I still prefer the Jose+10 commercial.