video ref, page-16

I am a second generation Italian and was so looking forward to this game, hoping that australia would win.
I have had soccer as a central part of my life since forever with playing and coaching (in my 40's now).
I have also been (with my eldest son) looking at taking up refereeing!!
I have always been opposed to video refs in games but this WC has made me rethink a little - the refereeing has seemed so much worse than I have previously seen but maybe we just forget the howlers of the past (but that 3-card trick against Croatia was certainly novel!).

My thoughts at present are to keep the video refs out for now during the actual games but to have some more emphasis put on video review. I agree the underlying problem is more the culture of diving (cheating) than the refs - this is what puts off so many Australians who haven't got an inbred love of the game - the rest of us just accept it but it has gone too far now.
Why not have a review committee that can take blatant cheats and punish them even if the ref is duped at the time? Grosso cheated - there is NO doubt about that - his own explanation was totally inconsistent with the event ("I got tangled up in his legs" - what legs??) - he deliberately dragged his back leg so as to ensure a contact with a defender who was clearly trying very hard to avoid him, then the dramatic fall and then hiding face down to hide the huge grin he must have had.
That very day I had explained to my sons the 3 main ways of milking a penalty (Grosso's was an excellent example of #2 - the dragging or hanging out of a foot to ensure contact with a defender or goalie as the player goes past, #1 is just the plain dive where there is little or no contact, and #3 was beautifully executed by Shevchenko in their 1-0 win over Tunisia - well worth a look if you can see it in replay).
Shevchenko's maneuvre (tripping himself by intentionally hooking his right foot behind his left calf while running at pace) was so disgusting and plainly obvious on the TV replay from the other angle, that FIFA should be saying to him:
"hey mate, well done and you won the game with that little piece of 'professionalism', but unfortunately you won't be playing for the rest of the tournament because you've just earned a 6-match suspension!"

A few high-profile convictions of this nature (yes Grosso deserves a similar ban) would start to sow doubts in the minds of the perpetrators, because despite the new rules against "simulation" (diving) the refs are often not convinced enough in the heat of the moment to do the necessary, and so the practice continues.

I am saddened that this WC has been soured not just by the refs but more so by the cheating.
maybe in the end soccer may have to bow to the pressure and do some kind of in-game video ref stuff but I hope it doesn't happen.

But what would I know ( I hold APG).....

sasa