World Cup trivia time

Terrific summary of the law on holding, UPSF. you get the gold star, with one exception.


any hold is, as you say, a no-discretion foul. if the ref sees it and calls it, he MUST enforce all the provisions of the law.

Holding an opponent includes the act of preventing him from moving past or
around using the hands, the arms or the body.


Referees are reminded to make an early intervention and to deal firmly with
holding offences especially inside the penalty area at corner kicks and free
kicks.
To deal with these situations:
• the referee must warn any player holding an opponent before the ball is in
play
• caution the player if the holding continues before the ball is in play
• award a direct free kick or penalty kick and caution the player if it happens
once the ball is in play
If a defender starts holding an attacker outside the penalty area and continues
holding him inside the penalty area, the referee must award a penalty kick.


Disciplinary sanctions
• A caution for unsporting behaviour must be issued when a player holds
an opponent to prevent him gaining possession of the ball or taking up an
advantageous position
• A player must be sent off if he denies an obvious goalscoring opportunity
by holding an opponent
• No further disciplinary action must be taken in other situations of holding
an opponent


Restart of play
• Direct free kick from the position where the offence occurred (see Law 13
– Position

in all of those scenarios I gave, a referee MUST caution the offending player.

Also since holding "Holding an opponent includes the act of preventing him from moving past or
around using the hands, the arms or the body." Any hold from outside the box that has legitimate effects of preventing movement continuing into the box could rightly be a PK and a caution. the box defines the end of the hold for the purposes of the rule, not the beginning. note that the rule says that any hold that starts outside the box and continues into the box is a PK. there is no reference to when a ref blows his whistle or point at which he makes the determination. even if the ref blows the whistle when play is outside the box, it is a PK if the hold offence continues into the box.

also, ANY hold off a corner or free kick in the box should rightly include both the PK and a caution, whether they actually involve the ball or not, or whether any advantage was prevented or not. The only requirement is preventing movement.

note that the rule directs the actions of the referee "especially" in corner or free kick scenarios, but it does NOT say these are the "ONLY" situations to award both PK's (or free kicks if outside the box) and cautions, so a strict reading could mean that any hold at all in the box demands both.

But every case of holding to prevent advantageous position demands a caution. (is there any other kind of hold?)

See how many times this Cup that a hold is whistled and no caution given. it happened at least once today.

Considering how absolute the language is on a lot of items like that, the variance of interpretation from official to official really is pretty shocking... It's almost like FIFA makes all these rules and then says "here, enforce them" without any reference or training.

I mean the only thing consistent is the fitness test for an official to earn their white badge...

The whole "referees are reminded" stuff was inserted a few years ago because refs have ignored the intent.

They still do. Every corner you see in S America, for example, has 8 holds.

One of the four UP players has a tattoo on her left shoulder.

1) Who is it?

2) Describe the tattoo.

Stay classy.

I believe that Megan has a tattoo that reads "Trust Yourself." Nothing else to offer descriptively.

On her left shoulder?

Oh, I'll never tell...stayin' classy

No idea...but Goooooaalll Rapinoe, as we speak!

OK. It would appear from Christine's video blog that she has a tattoo on her left shoulder (back). A soccer figure with a flame or maple leaf head?

OldePilot wrote:OK. It would appear from Christine's video blog that she has a tattoo on her left shoulder (back). A soccer figure with a flame or maple leaf head?

BINGO!

I can't tell if it's a rose ( legs are branches? ) or a Maple leaf ( more likely).
I don't think it's a flame. But I guess we will have to wait for a better picture someday.

Two USA goalkeepers have a clean sheet in WWC competition. Who are they?

Remember you don't get a sheet until you have played in a game.

Briana Scurry in numerous years and Hope Solo this year

Well, but I mean for all world cup play.

I was indeed foolish thinking one of your questions could be that simple

OK, here's part of the answer since you guessed Hope.

Her first World Cup was 2007, where she was not scored upon in the first three games, then substituted for the game against Brazil. We know what happened there.

No one has yet scored on her this cup either.


Who is the other player with a perfect World Cup record?

Well, now there is only one with a perfect record. That one will stay on the books.

That player is Mia Hamm, who played the last 6 minutes of a 2-0 win over Norway in 1995 when Brianna Scurry got a red card.