The only obvious bad call against Portugal was the second yellow against Beto. In fact, Lee could have been carded for what looked like a very obvious swandive. However, the first yellow on Beto was proper and the foul by Pinto against Park was extremely reckless and dangerous. Had it been just a red card Pinto could have gotten a 4-5 game suspension but because replays showed he tried to punch the ref in the stomach in defiance his attitude got him a 6 month suspension from International and League play.

I also agree on the call against the Aussie defender. It was a lazy tackle that had all the appearances of recklessness. Even if it was a bad call by the ref, the defender should never have made such a poor stab at the ball.

“I believe Park Ji Sung scored Korea’s only goal.”

Wow, your memory of the game is infallible. Really. Korea got lucky when Totti was sent off, yes. Spain was the victim of bad officiating. But Portugal, Portugal, Portugal…. they were not jobbed. Seriously, watch the match again (eBay, DVD, whatever). No objective observer (including the two ESPN commentators) would say that Korea was not a totally deserving winner.

(Note: Korea fouls - 22; Portugal fouls - 19… clearly one-sided)

As for the Italy-Australia penalty: To me, it’s spirit of the law versus letter of the law that makes it a questionable call. Had the play in question occurred in, say, the 55th minute, it wouldn’t be so controversial. The Australian defender made an exceedingly clumsy attempt at a tackle inside the box, and when you leave your legs out like that, more often than not you will get punished. Far less egregious tackles have resulted in penalties throughout this WC. Of course, since it was the penultimate call of the game, it is highly controversial. It was certainly harsh though.

The fact that you can’t see that side of the argument proves that you’re just a blabbering anti-fan blowhard anyway. No offense.

You’re still speaking in vague terms. I’d like you to exactly tell me which of the yellow cards branded by the ref in the Korea-Portugal game was undeserved. Please tell me, please. Which were the “questionable” yellow cards? I want the name of the player and the time of the incident. Just remind me, since you seem to have it etched in your memory. Because I remember. In case you forgot, Pinto almost snapped Park’s leg in half. (And Couto’s vehement arguing proves what exactly?) And I’m quite sure you clearly recall Bebeto’s cynical chop-down on Lee Young Pyo, leading to his (very well-deserved) second yellow card. Of course, of course, you remember all of that, since you’ve committed the game so well to memory.

“I believe Park Ji Sung scored Korea’s only goal.”

Actually I saw every game Korea played in 2002 either on TV or in person. I didn’t have a choice coz my gfriend lived and breathed the WC. The Portugal game was marred by the refs constant one sided calls that even from the outset seemed to benefit the hosts. At least one offsides call was made against Portugal that shouldn’t and more than one questionable yellow card was given out that perhaps should have been a penalty but not a card. The result was Portugal played the final 25 minutes with only 9 men against Korea’s 11. Once Portugal was down two men, I believe Park Ji Sung scored Korea’s only goal. You could see this coming from the start of the game with the way the refs were giving every call to the hosts. It was only a matter of time. I also remember seeing the Portuguese player Fernando Couto arguing so vehemently with the official after their second red card that I thought he’d be sent off too.

Now these sort of things happen all the time in futbol but usually they even out between the two teams over the course of a game. It didn’t happen in this one and the only other time I remember seeing one team get so many calls against another was in game five of the Miami-Dallas NBA Finals this year when Dwayne Wade shot more free throws than the entire Dallas team. This is the only comparison I can make to the Korea-Portugal game of 2002. It was that one sided.

I did make a mistake in saying the decision that gave Korea the victory in 2002 was even more blatantly wrong than the one that gave Italy the victory over Australia in 2006. In truth, it was not. The decision against Australia was far worse especially being that it was the last kick of the game. The fact that you didn’t think this was a bad call kind of nullifies any credibility you have regarding futbol anyway. No offense.

Tell me what the bad calls were in Korea-Portugal in 2002. PLease, since you seem to have such a definitive opinion about the refereeing in that game.

And then this:
“The decision that gave Korea the victory in 2002 was even more blatantly wrong than the one that gave Italy the victory over Australia in 2006.”

How is that possible? Nobody “gave” Korea a victory. Totti was red-carded, but Ahn still scored the golden goal. Conversely, the Italy-Australia penalty call (which was not necessarily a bad call in my opinion) was an absolute gift.

In a nutshell… Maekchu, please refrain from commenting on footy matches you obviously didn’t watch.

it cracks me up when people say korea and japan only advanced because they were playing in their own countries. duh. but no one mentions how france won it’s only title when they hosted. people, it’s a factor for everyone, not just the koreans in 2002.

in 2002, much was written about how the asian teams did well only because they were at or closer to home. but it could also be said that it exposed the european teams as dependent on their home field advantage to advance.

i think the asian and african teams will get better results when they don’t have to travel halfway around the world to compete.

Yeah, you’re right, I mentioned that awful penalty call from the Spanish ref in another post here at Marmot’s. In the 94th minute afte an obvious drama queen dive from that Italian cheater… my ass.

Thanks, and I really love the taste of Shin Ramyeon, too

Ryan…you’re right and it wasn’t just the Italy game vs. Korea in 2002. Spain and Portugal also had bad calls go against them vs. Korea. It’s too bad that poor officiating (or intimidated refs) always seem to have a huge impact on the outcomes of futbol games. Reminds me of the WWE sometimes.