Quick Throw: Really, Just Who We Want to Hear From

Again, PR, NEITHER WERE FRANCE.

Oh, and on the lighter side, here’s a good overview of reasons to hate Bono

Keith: That’s beside the point. Disputed goal or not, France won. Ireland were not winning. In fact Ireland were never ahead at any point in the tie. So their griping that they should be given some mythical 33rd place because of an illegal goal is totally stupid.

A replay? That’s at least a defensible request. To just be given a slot in South Africa is beyond ridiculous.

I agree that they shouldn’t be the 33rd team.

But they had played France to even enough honors up until the handball that they did not deserve to be sent from the tournament on that particular piece of play. Had the free been given in the Ireland area, perhaps Given’s free goes right to Henry, and he wins the tie on a 40-yard wonderstrike. But we won’t know.

The replay’s the fair and just thing to do. But this is FIFA and UEFA, who made up the rules for these playoff ties as they went along, and who have a greater financial incentive to look the other way and keep France in the tournament by any means necessary.

I don’t even agree that the replay is the ‘fair and just’ thing to do. There are mistakes all the time that benefit one team at the expense of another, this one was just both a massive mistake and on a massive stage. It would be sort of arbitrary for FIFA to pick now as the time to start trying to remedy that.

I’m pro-replay mostly because it would be great theater.

Arbitrary or not, it would be good to see FIFA owning up to and attempting to correct such massive mistakes, no?

Though I don’t think it’s arbitrary to pick your showcase tournament as the time to make the effort to get things right.

I’m pro-replay for the theater element too, plus if France got their s**t together and won emphatically (not saying they would), I think it’d be hilarious. I’m sure the FAI would be less vocal about replays in the future were they to battle the Frogs again and lose by 3 or 4 goals.

Eh… If you do it for the World Cup then you look like hypocrites if you don’t also do it for a Bundesliga IV match between Energie Dortmund and FK Waltershangendorfeneider.

Think the best outcome would have been for the FFF to ask for the replay (a la Wenger v Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup). But only on the condition that the entire match is replayed (so that Ireland are down 1-0 on an away goal). Sort of a ‘Be careful what you wish for” scenario.

C’mon PR, you are making us look like amateurs. The Bundesliga only goes two levels. After that there is one more national league then, at the fourth level, three regional leagues.

So, if you were to say “Regionalliga Nord” that would work.

The forest moon of Endor got their own Bundesliga team? Just a bunch of Aaron Lennon clones in Ewok costumes I assume.

Yeah, but nobody cares about Bundesliga IV (excuse me, umlaut, Regionaliga Nord), while everyone cares about the WC.

So I’d say start getting it right when everyone’s paying attention, and then you can worry about getting the lower levels right.

and the point is that the teams shouldn’t have to ask for replays. That is, presumably, what the governing bodies are there for. To pay attention and, um, govern.

and also agree on replaying the whole match or nothing.

Right they shouldn’t HAVE to ask, but seeing how FIFA being corrupt is a given, that’s about the only way it would have happened. Plus it both lets FIFA off the hook and shames them at the same time.

Anyway, all the whinging from the Irish is actually making me less sympathetic to any cause they might have had. But I’d also be okay with the suggestion we made yesterday: Put them in Group I (as in ‘imaginary’) with no other teams and from which nobody advances.

What about kicking France out and putting Costa Rica in? If anything, the style of play would improve.

This is all well and good but what does Bono think about the cattle sacrifices?

Eet moar chikin?

Drogba & Bono, the new Sonny & Cher: Charitay.

yeah, PR, but the whinging is drawing more attention to FIFA’s crack management corruption than if the FAI had just done the “eh whaddayagonnado” that most teams adopt as SOP when a ref screws the pooch.

<— I do not approve of pooch-screwing refs.