Of my friends who don't like soccer, their main complaints usual consist of the degree of babyish rolling around on the floor, faking fouls, and, you know, really bad sportsmanship.
Referees have a difficult job, to be sure. How do you ensure a fair game while also not provoking the crowd into madness? I mean, there's also a little bit of danger for refs, including death threats and mob attacks. People can get really into their sports.
I imagine that many refs do the best they can. The others are corrupt and should be ashamed of themselves, but I take this moment to acknowledge the many refs who try to fairly enforce a match to the best of their ability.
There is one huge flaw that I've noticed, though. Referees seem willing to overlook certain really severe fouls just because it's a big game (like a final match), and they know that red-carding a player would be a serious disadvantage. Red cards aren't given out freely enough in my opinion. I think that if a player makes the conscious decision to assault another player, he or she needs to pay the price.
Thus, if I were a referee, I would red card players for fouls like this:
This is soccer, after all, not karate. As entertaining as that it is to watch, it's also a crime that something like that can go without full punishment.
I would also have zero tolerance for fakers, like this:
Yes, I'm looking at you, Ronaldo. I think I would red-card players for that. It's time-wasting, dishonest, and irritating. If they enjoy acting that much, they should go into a different profession.
The teams may diminish in size with me as a referee, but wouldn't it be worth it to have a safer game? After all, I personally just want to watch a good game of soccer. I don't want to watch a game of fouls and fakers (yes, I'm looking at you, 2010 Men's final):
Here's to the glorious game!
-Laura
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