History And Deception

     While in the United States, one football tournament has the attention of sports fans focused on the gridiron and rooting their teams on to the Super Bowl, a football tournament of a different kind is taking place in the United Kingdom. The Football Association Cup, or FA Cup, originally kicked off in 1871 and is the oldest trophy in professional sports. The third round kicked off last weekend.
     The FA Cup is a single elimination tournament open to all teams in England and a select number of teams in Wales. There are 14 rounds, and every team in the top six tiers of English football are automatically entered. This arrangement means that small, semi-professional clubs have a chance to play, and maybe defeat, some of the biggest clubs in world football.
     The best example of a giant-killing in the third round this year comes from League Two side Stevenage. Stevenage play in the fourth tier of English football, and are currently 85th in the overall table. They hosted Newcastle United, who are currently the 9th best team in England, and were able to come away with a 3-1 victory.
     The biggest game on the docket, however, was Manchester United versus Liverpool. United and Liverpool are first and second in terms of English Championships. Both play in the northwest of England, and are bitter rivals. Although Manchester United sit atop the table while Liverpool are 13th, we know that league position is meaningless in the FA Cup. The match attracted even more attention when Liverpool sacked their latest manager in favor of Kenny Dalglish, who was a legendary player at Liverpool in the 1970s and 80s.
     The match did not live up to its potential. In the first minutes, referee Howard Webb awarded United forward Dmitar Berbatov a penalty, on what was clearly a dive. United scored and were up 1-0. Then, still in the first half, Webb sent off Liverpool captain Steven Gerard for a sliding tackle on Micheal Carrick. Manchester United have been grinding out wins all season, and the final hour was comfortable for them.
     Howard Webb is considered one of the best referees in the game. He officiated the 2010 World Cup Final, and was roundly criticised from both sides, which probably means he did a good job. This was not his best performance, though, and in a match that was televised around the world, that is a shame. Most of the blame should not go to Webb, however. Diving has become an enormous problem in the game, and both poor calls were aided by player simulation. In the heat of battle, it is asking too much of referees to determine what is a dive and what is a foul in the moment. FIFA needs to step up, and use video replay to hand out punishments (suspensions) to players who try to deceive the officials.