The World Cup can be glorious for many reasons. Nino Niederreiter Wild Jersey . On Sunday it stepped up to educate viewers. Arjen Robben was fouled in the box deep into added time in the match against Mexico. The key word in that sentence is fouled. Defender Rafa Marquez stepped in and stood on the foot of Robben in the penalty area. At no level of this sport, from youth football to the World Cup, is a defender allowed to step on an opponents foot. None. It was a clear penalty. 100 times out of 100 a referee should give it. However, there was a huge outrage on social media once the decision was made. Just after contact, Robben kicked his left foot into the air and threw his arms back, flopping to the floor. Robben cheat then was trending. But is he a cheat? Let us look at the facts from Sunday, ignoring what some people think he is like as a professional. Robben, who earlier in the game was fouled and didnt get a penalty for staying on his feet, falls to the ground theatrically. However, as he is falling to the ground the real incident has already happened. The defender, Marquez, has misjudged his duties; he is too late and has dived in late and connected with the foot of Robben. It is the referees duty at this time to decide if this is a foul. His decision should not be clouded by Robbens reaction. This, of course, is easier said than done. A football referees job is one of the hardest in professional sports yet, for some, there is an expectation for him to be judge and jury in cases such as this. Was it a foul? Did the player dive? Here is what you need to know about these questions. Referees are VERY good at deciding what is and what is not a foul. They are not, and should not be, VERY good at deciding if a player is diving. To come up with this verdict you have to measure intent. This is VERY dangerous territory. For some, Robben was cheating in this scenario. For some, his actions are worse than Marquez, even though the skipper of the Mexican national team rashly DIVED in and committed a foul in the final minutes of a monumental football match. The verdict is in on Marquez. It was a foul. So, what of Robben? Those throwing around the word cheat must be sure the player had intent and desire to cheat the referee or opponent. Whenever someone is guilty of something those accusing must always be clear of the rule itself and it is worth quoting the rules on simulation which comes under FIFAs Law 12 on fouls and misconduct. Unsporting Behaviour (Simulation) Directive: If blatant simulation, caution. If minimal contact, consider cautioning player. For the worst part of the crime - something they call blatant simulation - the guardians of the game instructs referees to give a yellow card; exactly the same card that players receive for a poor challenge or time wasting, for example. When such a moment happens, that directly impacts a match it is worth noting UEFAs stance explained in article 10 under 1C on suspensions applied to misconduct: Suspension for two competition matches or for a specified period for acting with the obvious intent to cause any match official to make an incorrect decision or supporting his error of judgement and thereby causing him to make an incorrect decision. That rule was applied in 2009 when UEFA banned Arsenals Eduardo for simulation against Celtic in the Champions League. However, as this case proved, it is very difficult to judge whether a player has obvious intent to dive. Arsenal rightly challenged the two game ban applied to their striker and it was overturned. We are now at a stage in 2014 where we are evaluating how every footballer goes down to the ground under a challenge with many rushing to the assumption that they are diving cheats. This is not helping anyone. As Arsenal proved when they overturned the Eduardo ban, accusing someone of intentionally trying to simulate is very dangerous. Asking a referee to do the same is even more moronic and the game is already at a crossroads with this as fouls are now being missed based on what happens directly afterwards. And this is the biggest concern. Fouls, seen by referees, are being missed because of the outrage over simulation. Fouls are already being missed as it is. Not through incompetence but because the game is so difficult to officiate. Referees rely on players to help them with this and if a player falls down theatrically under a legitimate foul, no ones attention should be turned to the latter. This, of course, is as likely as officials missing clear penalties and players simulating. The clear obsession with this area of the sport is growing and growing, particularly from a crowd who dont watch the game as often. Despite the obsession, the crime remains a difficult one to judge. Perhaps, then, energy is better used elsewhere? Dont count on it. For example, if Robben had been booked for diving, would there have been such an outrage when Netherlands would have been denied a clear penalty in the dying minutes? Not even close. Matt Cooke Jersey . Louis Blues will try to remain undefeated against the defending Stanley Cup champions this season when they visit the Chicago Blackhawks for Wednesdays Central Division showdown at United Center. Nino Niederreiter Jersey . Azeez was left completely unmarked in the heart of the area to head home Fernando Sorianos cross four minutes into injury time, provoking a small group of Almeria fans to invade the pitch.CALGARY -- The man who gave the host country one of its most memorable moments of the 2010 Winter Olympics faces long odds to compete at the next Winter Games. Jon Montgomerys gold medal in skeleton at the Whistler Sliding Centre and his subsequent auctioning off of a pitcher of beer in the village square elevated him to folk-hero status. But the 34-year-old from Russell, Man., might not make the 2014 team for Sochi, Russia, in February. Montgomerys results the last season and a half have yet to meet Bobsleigh Canada Skeletons qualification criteria. He needs to hit the ball out of the park and also have little luck in the four races he has left to qualify before Jan. 19. "Unfortunately for me, Im fighting an uphill battle in that regard," Montgomery said Wednesday in Calgary. "I would guess the way things have gone it would be nothing short of winning the four races before that deadline." Mellisa Hollingsworth of Eckville, Alta., Calgarys Sarah Reid and John Fairbairn and Eric Neilson of Kelowna, B.C., were introduced Wednesday as Canadas skeleton athletes for Sochi. Canada can qualify a third man and a third woman for Sochi in January, according to head coach Duff Gibson. Should Canada gain those berths, Montgomery is up against Dave Greszczyszyn of Burlington, Ont., for the final spot on the mens team. It will come down to points earned in races. Greszczyszyn is currently ranked 23rd in the world and Montgomery 25th with 32 points separating them. Montgomery didnt qualify in fall selection races for the World Cup team. Hes competing on the secondary Intercontinental Cup circuit where results are worth fewer points than World Cup results. Greszczyszyn will continue to race World Cups. "Dave will be earning twice as many points for his results on World Cup than I will be on IC," Montgomery said. "If I win all four races and Dave gets 13th in his races hell beat me out in points." If the two men end up close or tied in points, it could come down to coachs discretion, which Gibson doesnt relish. The 2006 Olympic champion hopes the sliders sort it out themselves so he can avoid that painful decision. "By delaying our third selection until we know there is a third Canadian spot allows them to separate themselves based on performance, rather than us having to make a subjective choice," Gibson said. Montgomery will race twice in Whistler, B.C., on the track of his Olympic triumph before a pair of races in Park City, Utah, in January. "Im always optimistic," he said. "Ill work until the cows come home for any kind of a chance. Im not going to worry about the race results before they happen. "Im going to be worried about the next run, the next inch, the next corner. If I get ahead of that, Im not focused on whats important, which is the things I can control right now. "I wont bbe defined by my failures and this is hardly a failure yet. Mikko Koivu Jersey. " Montgomery has yet to bond with the sled he built from scratch when he took the 2011-12 season off from racing. The first World Cup after the 2010 Olympics was in Whistler and Montgomery won there. But he didnt finish on the podium again that season. Unwilling to race on a sled that got him wins on just one track in the world and looking ahead to Sochi, Montgomery worked with the metal construction company Standens on a new sled. The move hasnt translated into success on the track. Montgomery needed four top-six results in World Cups the last season and a half to automatically qualify for Sochi. He was sixth once in 2012-13 and was at a major disadvantage this season not qualifying for the World Cup. Montgomery doesnt regret the season he took off or the move to a new sled. Hes sure there would be no chance of beating Latvian skeleton superstar Martin Dukars or Russian slider Alexander Tretiakov, who are co-favourites for gold in Sochi, if he didnt make the change. "The sled that Ive got right now is better than the sled I used to be on," Montgomery said. "Theres no question. The only unfortunate part, and the reason why I was so successful in 2010, was because that old sled was like an extension of my body. "When I was competing in 2010 in Vancouver, that sled Id been on for eight years. I knew exactly how it would react to every single situation I was presented with. Im not there with my Standen sled. I havent had the time to get comfortable with it yet." And its not a simple matter of going back to his former sled, he says. Montgomery hasnt been on it for three years and his body would have to re-learn it. There isnt time for equipment tinkering now. Montgomery says he was the fastest Canadian on the Sochi track during an international training week in the fall. "I was the fastest Canadian athlete by a good bit, but thats neither here nor there," he said. "Its disappointing for me not to be given the benefit of the doubt of that leadership, that past performance proof that Im maybe the best person for the job, but Im in this situation by my own doing. "I cant blame anybody. If youre expecting to be given consideration based on past performance, youre kidding yourself." Montgomery took the risks he did because he wanted another Olympic medal. "I was searching for that special thing I knew I would have to do to be a medallist this go around," Montgomery explained. "Ive got no interest in becoming a two-time Olympian. My interest was always I wanted to do everything in my power to go there and defend my Olympic gold medal, our Olympic gold medal. "Ive got zero regrets. I know I created the bed Im sleeping in, but Im only disappointed. Disappointed is fleeting. Regret is lasting." wholesale nfl jerseyswholesale jerseys ' ' '
