Crouching Fouler, Hidden Grabber?

im surprised no english boys posting their comments here? they’re usually quite boisterous about everything…but in this issue,wow they’ve all evaporated. apprehensive about the ghost of “the hands of God”?

LOL. I cannot believe no foul was called. Crouch was called for the exact same thing numerous times in the friendlies.

The ESPN feed also caught Crouch calling for a corner kick when the ball clearly came off his head (earlier in the game).

All is fair in love and war….and in England, where ‘winning ugly’ was invented.

It was so obvious. I can excuse the commentators (they don’t want to upset the viewers), but nothing was mentioned in the sports coverage after the match. England’s fate was definitely in the balance with that no-call.

they’re all drunk celebrating!

i do think the english team was real weak and its sad they did not get called for this.. if this goal had not stood i don’t think they would have won

Good lord – why don’t you subject every single disputed jump from both games so far to the same analysis? If youdid that you’d see Crouch being held down more than half the time – what about the fouls and cards for that?

Football is a contact game.

Beenhacker had class – he didn’t complain. He told the truth – that they tried to get 10 men behind the ball and hope for a breakaway and that T&T ran out of energy in the last ten minutes. You could see it everywhere. And, I truly hope that England can stuff Sweden by 2 or 3 and that Paraguay lose to T&T by 2 or 3 so that T&T can go through.

“why don’t you subject every single disputed jump from both games so far to the same analysis?”

Because this one mattered than any other…and it was uniquely cynical.

Hair-pulling. HAIR-PULLING.

Think about it.

The play changed the game permanently. Once England scored, T&T were lucky not to let in four. But there’s nothing to be proud of in the way that first goal was scored.

Crouch looks great at the corner flag, and he looked even better at the half bicycle off Beckhams cross(no defender in sight).

‘Hand of Geek’ is too good to pass up.

shameful! i thought the english played by the rules.. but they are cheaters…

i can only hope they don’t go on to win the world cup… as it would all be because of this hair pulling by robo geek

(thats the way english act about maradona..still obsessed 20 years later..still lineker going to argentina to interview diego about it)

shameful english behavior..cheaters!

Tsk tsk…

I thought I remember in an earlier game I can’t remember but one team was wearing the white kit and one goal came off as being a look alike of the Hand of God…Maradona style!

Crouch is a total clown, but he did his job. That goal (legal or otherwise) was the reason why Sven kept him for the entire 90 minutes. He will not get such luck again against Ecuador or Germany.

Crouch’s dirty goal clearly took the wind out of the TNT sails. The Gerrard goal was the result. TNT deserved a draw. England showed two things in this game. 1) They can’t shoot close to the goal; 2) they cheat. I personally think they’ll step it up in Round 2, but they’ll have to step it WAY up to make it beyond.

Aside from Crouch, it was a nice day for liverpool. Stevie baby!
Now they just need to get michael owen back in the number #10

Boooo what a horrible play by England… anyways TNT played much better in my opinion and this goal was made by cheating so it wasnt nice.

I just lost all respect for the lanky Robot.

By the way, Shawn, that’s a really creative blog title.

Tsk Tsk, Sergio and Maradonna’s Toupee, you guys sound a bit bitter towards the English… What was the score the other night Ummm oh yes… you lost 3-0 … Could this be the reason?!!

no expert here, but isn’t this physical assault as per FIFA’s discipliinary code?? and isn’t that right up there with their global “Fair Play” programs?? and doesn’t this constitute suspension for 4 games?? and isn’t this all just bullshit at this level, people?? I think some of the refs so far should have their certification pulled right out from under them.

this, from the new york times 3 hours ago:

……Replays appeared to show Crouch tugging at the hair of defender Brent Sancho before heading the ball into the goal.

“To be honest, I think he was all over my back,” Sancho told The Associated Press. “He was definitely pulling me back and definitely over my back. Then again, we’re tiny Trinidad and Tobago. There’s no way the referee is going to blow that whistle.”

Sergio and Maradonna’s Toupee..
Oh Dear you guys are bitter arn’t you? Anything to do with the 3-0 thrashing of US of A in the week?!HA!

Well Im from Trinidad and played with a few of these guys and they played brilliantley and all of the people at Trinidad are proud of them.. they have rose up and played with the giants of the football world and i think its amazing.. Even though we got cheated in that goal i am proud of us and we deserved a tie to be honest.. England themselevs are playing horrible and will not make it far so they might as well enjoy it while they can..It needs to be back to the sport and love of the game and get the politics out of it.

I’m from Trinidad & Tobago & I just want to say that I am very proud of our team’s performance and I am extremely happy that people in the world other than Trinidadians are dissapointed. I as well as all my drunk friends today were quite pissed off that Crouch stooped so low to get a goal & that changed everything in our game today. I’m still kinda drunk and I’m still kinda pissed off. That ref called some jackass calls as well. Good luck to all the team in the World Cup, if we don’t make the round of 16 we are still proud we were there on the biggest stage in the world with the big guns.

Fear not, karma is a hell of a thing. He won’t ever be doing the robot after Sweden breaks his lanky legs on Tuesday.

well honestly I hope they destroy sweden and we destroy paraguay its the only way trinidad have a chance getting into the next round, but i’ll still be happy and proud if we don’t. I also hope we don’t lose Beenhacker cuz he is the reason our team is finally getting to use there talent the way they are supposed to. If he stays we have a chance to go South Africa 2010.

LOL. Nice one Crouchy, you’ll do for me lanky boy!

Get real everyone. How could Crouch have committed a foul? As Michael Owen said the other day, England plays honestly. Yeah! Look at the above photo. The fault is not with Crouch, it’s all Brent Sancho’s fault. His hair is too long and got in the way of Crouch’s hands. Sancho should have been sent off for having such long hair. It incites the opposing players to give the impresssion they are grabbing it for their advantage.

no call and called for this? sergio and maradonas toupe stick to baseball/gridiron. you will be coming out with yardage stats and the like next.

well – sancho didn’t say his hair was pulled – he said crouch climbed over his back. the fact is you can’t tell anything from the replay except that crouch got up higher and pushed off on sancho. since sancho didn’t mention hair pulling I strongly suspect there wasn’t any.

frankly i’m disgusted at the ‘england is so bad – they must have doen something wrong, they must have cheated attitude.

t&t never got close to scoring – the clearnce off the line would n’t have stood even if it went in – Johns got a yellow card for the incident! for slamming the other england defender over and trying to knock him into the goal with the ball – but that apparently isn’t cheating or violent or wrong. give it up! the soca warriors are at least honest unlike you lot – they admit they got beaten fair and square – not by much and only after they ran out of gas – but beaten all the same.

i particularly like all the canadian whining – probably because they know that they can’t beat T&T let alone anyone else – not even the US – who so far actually are the worst team at the cup.

and no, england hasn’t played very well yet, but also so far they have clearly deserved their two wins. 23 shots to 7 shots but apparently england didn’t deserve to score!? If they could finish like the czechs the score would have been 9-0! would that have been unfair too?

Don’t worry guys, there is no way England will win the world cup. HAHAHAHAHAHA

yeh bakhum maybe not but at least we will still be there while your lot catches the first plane home.

That was a cheap shot Alan, shame on you.

Owen, he has braids, he wouldn’t even feel Crouch’s feminin hands grabbing on to them.

Americans really need to learn how to sit down and shut up when the adults talk.

He may have accidentally clasped his fist around a clump of hair for a second or two.

That is fundamentally different to deliberate and extended pulling, designed to inflict pain.

INNOCENT I say!

Ok…if someone jumps and grabs a handful of your hair…I’m sure you’ll feel it…especially your scalp. Bad Crouch!

Are you serious, D, “he may have accidently clasped his fist around a clump of hair for a second or two”? You may as well say “he may have accidently pushed him for a second”, or, “he may have accidently tripped him to stop him from scoring”, or, “he may have accidently poked him in the eye for a second or two”. IT WAS A FOUL.

I don’t care about all this Crouch the Clown business, but I must say (IMHO) that Crouch is a “sucky” forward.

The thing is though, the hair pullee did not complain at all, so he can’t have give it a good old tug or I’m sure the T&T player would have called for a foul, especially since it resulted in a goal.

And don’t brand us ‘cheaters’ just over one incident! Everyone has it in for us English, thank god we have enough support back home.

he may be a “sucky” forward DeKaY, but he sure did make the crowg go wild-happy..so,there’s no point arguing now.
btw,StevieG did a great job there with the last goal.
GO LIVERPOOL!!

YNWA

According to BBC website Sancho has decided he was fouled.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2006/teams/trinidad_and_tobago/5085662.stm

So what, shit happens.

So don’t metion the hand of g-d again either ,why was that the issue for the last 20 years and all of the complaining about being ROBBED.

a lot of people saw the hand and felt sorry for England at the time ,some how I think that has been resolved and they now realise England will sink to any low to get what they want ,GOLITH resorts to cheap shot to beat David.

So shit happens meant Argentina won fairly then ,glad you sorted that out for us all.

Everyone has it in for the English because they always talk like they will win the Cup, then they get booted in the quarters or earlier.

Have fun watching the English get massacred by the superior German or Ecuadorian sides, who are playing real football at the moment. I hope the English get a false sense of confidence with crappy play against an even more horrendous Sweden so it feels that much worse to be out in the round of 16. Maybe Crouch can pull off another spectacular side volley or bicycle kick – with finishing like that, he could try out for Team USA.

And I know, Team USA sucks, but hardly any of their real fans expected them to advance without some luck, and nobody (rational, don’t listen to ESPN) thinks they will win the Cup. That’s quite different from the hype Wack-ham and Company receive.

It’s the British media that talk England up all the time, not England players themselves. Of course the fans will say we’re going to win it, most fans of any coutry do, it’s what gives football matches such a great atmosphere.

As for talking like we’ll win the cup, do you think it would be more appropriate if Beckham said in a press conference ‘Well, we’re playing utter bollocks and I think we’ll lose’?

[...] I’m not impressed by the Crouch Incident. I’m even less impressed by the argument that “it’s football and these things happen”, primarily in light of the way that the T&T games have been refereed. [...]

Jeez, there are some bitchy Yanks on here… get a life lads!

(Jodildo, that is 95% aimed at you.)

For me, watching Maradona score after dribbling past the whole England team is far more painful than the “hand” thing. I still find myself shouting “take his legs, take his legs!” LOL

LOL ,unfortunate but VERY TRUE ,LOL

It may have been painful to an Englishman to see Maradona dribble past the whole England team and score a goal, but to the rest of the world it was exhilirating and a marvel to watch – sportsmanship is to give credit to your opponents when they play fair and show talents of genius.

“well – sancho didn’t say his hair was pulled – he said crouch climbed over his back. the fact is you can’t tell anything from the replay except that crouch got up higher and pushed off on sancho.”

I’ll say it again, Owen: go to 83:38-83;39 on the ESPN2 feed, and you clearly see Crouch grab the braids and yank the hair. Clearly. Sancho just disappears. Now, Crouch happened to be all over him at the time, so maybe Sancho’s memory is just of being fouled all over. But his hair was pulled. I’ve watched it like 10 times.

Gosh i’m going to enjoy seeing England get their arse kicked in the second round and once again dissapoint the shit out of the fans who continue to delude thenselves with the belief that they are going to win the cup. Dream on blokes.I’ll have a pint while you endure another unsuccessful world cup.

Wow a lesson on sportsmanship from an Aussie! Now that IS taking the piss.

Ahhhh Neil.. Is you all upset at England coz we smashed your dream? Yes English fans are dreaming on… Thanks to your team.

This is total madness going on in this worldcup.Is it that everyone fears the Trinidad and Tobago(underdogs)so much that they had to cheat to win.It is so obvious that Peter Crouch pulled on the locks of Brent Sancho to get extra leverage to make that first goal for England.My respect for the “LIONS” has been lost.
I am so proud of the warriors for going there with all this pessure placed upon them and yet they were honest,dedicated,hardworking and sucessful for this whole world.CONGRATULATIONS TO THE SOCA WARRIORS.

The hand of Crouch should be a National Monument in England,because that is what it took to win the “underdogs”.Please FIFA Look into this.Your motto is FAIR PLAY.Peter Crouch grabbed on the hair of Brent Sancho when he made that first goal.

CONGRATULATIONS to the SOCA WARRIORS.You have done us proud.I was always proud ot say I’m a Trini.Now I am beyond proud.I am blessed to be a Trini.
Please England work on a better strategy next time.Don’t cheat to win.And FIFA be fair!!!!!!Anyhow GOD IS GOOD.BLESS!!!!!!

Am..dearie…that is not braids..it is called DRED LOCKS…as in Rastafarians….

so if you are saying that rastafarians are girly because of their hairstyle then you have issues……

be serious…and ENGLAND are cheaters…if that’s how you resort to winning games…

i do hope England meets Germany or Brazil, who will school them in game play, not nasty tactics.

and by the way.. BECKHAM is not a player, he’s a glorified poster boy.

Brent Sancho used to play for my hometown Portland Timbers and I’ve seen him right up close: Those are braids, not dreadlocks. They’re styled in a salon, not grown out and untended like a true Rasta’s locks.

Go England! Bring home the World Cup…by any means neccesary!

Binary:

For shits and giggles, replace ‘England’ in your post with ‘France,’ ‘Italy,’ ‘Argentina’ or ‘Germany’ and see how it sounds.

For the record, 500-plus blog posts into it, I want England to do well.

But I want them to win through the strength of their play, not through cynical, dirty tactics.

Come on now, nobody bitches like an Englishman. Boy am I thankful that the only English I have in me is my first language. Evidently, it’s seems to be enough to get me accused of being bitchy.

Give the Soca Warriors their due. They made you guys look like asses (well, Crouch and Owen did a pretty good job on their own) for the better part of that game. They showed the pluck and spirit that England couldn’t even muster from their own fans.

I’m still looking forward to the bloodbath that will follow group play – we just don’t know who will get the pleasure of booting England: Ecuador or Germany?

If England prove me wrong, I’ll eat crow. But the way they’ve played the last two games….not likely.

This years England team might not be the best England has had in the past. However, they may be a “dark horse” in the tournament. As far as Crouch pulling the guys hair is concerned…yep its not supposed to be done…but far better to pull his hair than give him a swift kick to the shins!!!! Personally I think Crouch grabbed his hair instinctively to stop himself from falling!!! Most of the teams are playing dirty. There are lots of fouls–many not called by the refs. So I say its not good to pull hair but if thats what it took to score….keep pulling!!!!!!!!!!!!!ENGLAND,,,,,!!!!!!I’m in California cheering for ENGLAND!!!!!!!!

i hope england will not win after what crouch had done!

Look football is a contact sport.. it happens.. grow up all of you..

England didn’t play well (other than in the last 20 mins) but won.. end of story

All you people sayin T&T deserved a draw…THEY DID NOT…They just defended, defended, oh and i think they also defended. FFS, they were pants, and i had a lot of respect for them, until they came on here and started slating england…just shows they cant take losing.

so algojo, u hope england wont win after wot crouch did?

And wot about T&T’s two-footed challenge on lennon that could have broken his leg

Sorin diving all over the place in argentina vs. ivory coast.

u have no right to say that england shouldnt win it jus cos of wot crouch did, plenty of other teams play act, dive etc. but its just england and especially crouch that get all the flak.

ok you english, just wanted to say you better enjoy it while it lasts your not going far on the performances iv seen, us italians will win it this year were on form what and learn england how to play football on the ground and not the long ball style, italia italia

love it that just because I’m physically in america that you all think I am american. Bet I’ve been to more english league games than that swiss guy Akbar.

I admit it – I was wrong – Crouch clearly pulled his hair. Doesn’t change the essential point – look at all the close in plays with Crouch – he gets worse than he gives.

funny how not one person has responded to the point that the ‘almost’ goal would have been disallowed anyway. what that means is that T&T didn’t produce a SINGLE real chance.

and let me say it again – I really like and respect T&T. I would love to see England beat the cynical swedes and T&T beat the even more cynical paraguayan team and go through to play Germany. It would even be a classic irony for T&T to beat Germany and England to lose to Ecuador – not that I want that to happen!

And as for idiot americans – save that comment for Bruce Arena and Demarcus Beasely please – theya re the ones who deserve it.

GO ON CRAAACH GET IN THERE MY SAAAHN

When a supposedly class act like the English football team, with it’s cadre of stars has to resort to such a poor display of sportsmanship to win a match it is a sad day for all football enthusiast. England may have won but the game has suffered. Congratulations to the T&T football team, you deserved your place in this tournament.

Binarybloke, I have seen many boofheads but you are the first in print. Keep up your puerile comments, they are so funny, hahahaha, you’re stupidity has me in stitches.

Enzo Shut up – what do you know about football you are Australian, or should I say ‘Soccer’ so you understand!

We (England) Will Win The World Cup… And By The Way Peter Crouch is only temping for one of the best strikers in the world… why Crouch has to do things like that is beyond me.. he was rubbish for most of the game

I’m a US-based T&T man. I play football myself and I know Sancho from his St. John Univ. days. He was fouled and Crouch did cheat, but that’s football. It’s a man’s game. Shit like that happens all the time in football. I hate it, but if it were S. John pulling Ferdinand’s hair to score, I would be celebrating like the English.

For all the blathering idiots out there…how bout you guys actually take a unbiased and objective look at the clip to see what really happens. If this is how England wants to be portrayed on an international level – then more props to them. I’m a Trini and it’s bad enough that we have to put up with the biased retards commentating and refereeing the matches, but that people can’t appreciate the effort that was put into that game – commend the fact that we had the english team sweating bullets (and meeting them foul for foul!), then you guys have no concept of why this great game is the specatacle it is!

At the end of the day it’s only a game. Someone will win the world cup and from what I have seen so far it won’t be England, my pick is the Czech Republic. It is only very shamefull what England and Crouch had to resort to to beat tiny Trinidad and Tobago, all of England and their supporters should be ashamed. Yes England won the game but is that all that matters. Soca Warriors lost but with pride and dignity and at least the whole world saw what happened and to me that is what’s important.By the way all you English funatics Brian Charles Lara broke the batting record twice (375 and 400 not out) and both times it was against guess who England, nad guess where he is from? That you cannot that away.So go ahead and cheat it’s only a game that will be over in a couple of weeks but the shame will last forever.

Firstly, I would like to congratulate the Soca Warriors, our motto in TnT is win, lose or draw we still having a good time. (No body parties like Trini’s do)lol
Secondly, I believe that England ain’t going and win no world cup with the utter tar tar they r playing, English fans u should feel proud that ur team is winning by 1. An own goal 2. A foul and 3. A bias referee.
Thirdly, Brent Sancho does not have braids, it is called dredlocks, he goes to a salon to get it maintained for all those ingnorant english fans. Lastly, 2 all those people who r saying that Trinis are sore losers could kiss my @ss cause we never once complained because Karma’s a Bitch and as they saying in TnT goes GOD IS A TRINI. LOL

Gash dem and Ligth dem for all cheater in the World Cup

“England ain’t going and win no world cup”

so that double negative shows ur firmly rooting for an England win then Car?

As for Crouch fouling some guy?

So what? LMFAO.

Winning games when ur bad is what it’s all about.

Oh little T&T boohoo… so how come half your team is English then?

Jacon this is an English blog!

Crouchs tactics were underhanded. However we know how the game is played. The Referee had to ensure victory for the English against their former colony. That’s why they didn’t show the Crouch foul replay during the game. They only replayed angles from the front right and front center which blocks out his foul. I have the game on DVD and I’ve seen it many times. If you don’t understand why the foul wasn’t called even though it was obvious, check

http://www.omnitv.ca/ontario/worldcup2006/editorial_videoreplay.shtml

We all know that tiny little TnT were playing defense and were doing a damn good job. It would have been the most embarrassing match for England to lose/draw to Trinidad simply because of their respective world rankings. The referee is not perfect and will have biases. The article condemns Americans for being so high tech about their sports, using video replays for most calls in sports, (letting technology replace the referee) however I believe that for a game played at the international level, and where the world is watching, where entire nations hold their breath, they should favor justice and fair calls rather than controversy to inflame passion. Yes the referee trains hard for his job, but he is not without fault. This has to be understood.

Regardless of the score line, those who saw the match got the thrill of a lifetime watching the classic DAVID VS GOLIATH match, and witnessing the smallest nation to EVER participate at this level hold off the mighty England’s relentless attacks for 83 mins. Way to go Soca Warriors!

However, Fans of the Soca Warriors shouldn’t downplay England for their dirty move.

Players fake injuries for someone to get a red or yellow card, then they get up and they are fine again.
It’s JUST TACTICS!
Replays show a lot of fakers even in this world cup.
So yes they played dirty in order to win but don’t hate on the team because of it. I know that soca warrior fans are hurt by the fact that they resorted to this move to defeat them, but what can you do? It’s in the past and you cannot change the scoreline. A team will do whatever it takes to win. That means fouling sometimes. Yes the Game result may have been different had this goal been disallowed, simply because the follow up would be different, and Lampart may not have gotten a chance to score the 2nd goal. But dont be sore about it. In Fact most Trinidadians still celebrated after the loss. Trinidadians usually support England and it was a stroke of Irony that they would be pitted against each other on the world biggest stage.
Even the Trinidad football team supports england. Dont believe me? All their players play in English leagues or scottish leagues. Most play in english Leagues. Want more? Birchill is and Englishman. He said before the game that he wont celebrate if he scores a goal against them. The English players inspires many of the Trinidadians players because they play in higher leagues. Playing against England for the players themselves was nothing short of bitter-sweet. It took alot of courage, love, and respect for them to face the very team that inspires them.

It doesn’t matter how you win, just that you do. – This is true whether you are a Trinidadian or a Englishman.

England is already getting thrashed by almost every football journalist after the game. They showed their fear and respect for the Trinidadian team by bringing out Rooney early in the 2nd half. The England coach said he didn’t want to use Rooney until the round of 16 nations, giving him more time to recover from his injury. However, just the fact that England was desperate enough to bring out their star striker, showed that they were having Major difficulties breaking the Trinidadians defense. All credit to the Trinidadian Team on a terrific performance. Now I know what ‘Warrior Spirit’ truly is. They considered the inclusion of Rooney as an ‘honor’ rather than a cheap escape. The Trinidadian Team clearly has alot of honor in themselves and alot of respect for the English team. Can you name one other team that plays like Trinidad?

Even after their loss against England, the people of Trinidad still celebrated the honor of playing against the football Giant. I’ve never seen a country with such honor, respect and discipline for the game and its players. The Prime minister of Trinidad called the team to congratulate them on a great performance. Did the queen or anyone of high ranking even congratulate the English team? No. In addition to that, the British press is full of nothing but insults to their team following the game.

The English got their biggest compliments from the Trinidadian coach and players, Regardless of the foul. Simply because they know that this is how the game is played.

Dont be angry, be like most Trinidadians instead. Yes you guys would have been through, had you beaten England, but you cant beat them with a defensive strategy. You can only draw. Then the pressure would have been on England to beat sweden to advance. Now YOU NEED England to beat Sweden and YOU NEED to beat Paraguay by 2-0 to advance. What happened is in the past, get over it because right now you need them to win in order for you guys to advance.

I truly hope that this team that plays with much more heart than any other team I’ve seen so far makes into the next round. I’d love to see them play against Germany.

Money was all

FIFA Vice President Jack Warner, an adviser to the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation, said Peter Crouch’s goal against the Soca Warriors in Thursday’s heartbreaking 2-0 loss should not have been allowed by the referee.

Warner said yesterday that Japanese referee Toru Kamikawa will be under investigation by the FIFA Referee’s Committee.

He also suggested that an England win was a more attractive result than a draw.

“I do not know what will happen to him, if anything will happen to him, but what I do know is that he had decided what the result would be,” Warner said in a telephone conversation yesterday afternoon.

Warner revealed yesterday that FIFA— the world governing body for football — normally reviews the performances of its officials after each match.

A disappointed Warner said he is sure that the Japanese official will be made “to pay” for his poor performance during the Trinidad and Tobago and England encounter.

For 82 minutes, Trinidad and Tobago held the 1966 World Cup winners to a goalless draw — until Crouch appeared to “piggy back” defender Brent Sancho to head home a David Beckham’s right side cross. The goal gave England a 1-0 lead. Video and photographic evidence appear to indicate that Crouch pulled Sancho down by his dreadlocks while climbing for the ball. A writer in the Miami Herald said that Crouch used Sancho as a stepladder.

According to Warner, the team’s morale was broken by that goal and England sealed the issue later when Steven Gerrard’s blistering drive to the top left corner made the score 2-0.

“The referee, in my view, was more concerned with the cash value of the England team which included Beckham, Wayne Rooney and so on…which was well over £50 million, rather than doing a proper match,” Warner said.

He described it as a case of a little country like Trinidad and Tobago up against a big nation like England — where TT must always lose. He said it was a very similar situation when Trinidad and Tobago played against Bahrain to qualify for the competition. He pointed out that before he left home, he predicted that the team would have gone on to the second round.

“And we would have done so had we had a proper referee for Thursday’s game,” he said.

The regional football boss also said that he still believed that Trinidad and Tobago would advance to the round of 16 teams, but he said it means that we have got to win against Paraguay on Tuesday.

Mathematically, Trinidad and Tobago’s chance of a quarter-final berth in the World Cup depends on their ability to defeat the South Americans by at least two clear goals in Kaiserslautern — as well as the result of the England/Sweden encounter — from which it is hoped, will finish in a goalless draw.

With the top two teams advancing to the next round, the English are already through to the next stage with six points from two matches. The Swedes got their first win against the Paraguayans and have four points.

Trinidad and Tobago can only reach four points with a win over Paraguay — with goal difference being the only other factor to secure the second place position in group B. Warner was high in praise for the performance of the players — saying they have made him proud. Quizzed as to whether anything special is going to be done for the team, Warner said he had already delivered on all his promises.

He claimed further that it is now up to the Sport Minister and the government of Trinidad and Tobago to present the players with something worthy.

FIFA to Blow Whistle on Referee.

Can The English Continue to Deny?

TT/UK match might be referee’s last

JAPANESE referee Toru Kamikawa may have officiated in his last World Cup match…ever.

This prospect loomed large after his performance in Thursday’s Group B World Cup match between Trinidad and Tobago and England came under increasing fire from football pundits throughout Germany.

So FIFA, the world governing body for football and the organisers of the World Cup Finals have placed Kamikawa on a list of referees whose performance will be reviewed.

This is a clear signal that FIFA is unhappy at the way the Japanese official conducted his duties at the Franken Stadion in Nuremberg as the Soca Warriors conceded two goals in the last seven minutes to lose the match.

His situation was not helped by German television, which mere hours after picked up the foul by lanky England striker Peter Crouch who leapt over the until then impenetrable Trinidad and Tobago defence to break the deadlock in the 83rd minute.

Television replays which were magnified showed Crouch pulling at the dreadlocks of defender Brent Sancho as he jumped to head in the David Beckham cross and despite the protestations of Sancho, referee Kamikawa pointed to the kick-off spot indicating the goal was good.

Also there was much debate here in Frankfurt about the disallowed goal scored by Stern John in stoppage time.

It was a decision, many felt, that should have gone the way of the Warriors but as his decisions throughout the match proved, Kamikawa was not giving anything to the World Cup debutants.

His judgement appeared clouded by the fact that the Trinidad and Tobago team was the smallest nation ever to compete at the World Cup Finals and were rank outsiders especially against a team like England.

Evans Wise, who plays for the Third Division German side came on as a second half substitute and sprinted down the right flank and fed a piercing cross to John in the box who flicked the ball past the England ‘keeper Paul Robinson.

As the Trinidad and Tobago fans rose in delirium to celebrate the historic achievement, referee Kamikawa deflated the football atom bomb with a fierce blast of his whistle.

Trinidad and Tobago fans were also left pondering the decision of the stadium announcer to use the public address system during play.

Announcing “three minutes more” to indicate the period of extra time appeared to have startled Trinidad and Tobago goalkeeper Shaka Hislop just as England midfielder Frank Lampard curled in a left-footer to put his team two-up.

Despite the loss there was a lot of admiration for the Trinidad and Tobago footballers who with a little more luck could have already ensured their place in the round of 16 knockout stage at odds of 1,000 to one.

The results on Thursday meant that the Soca Warriors must defeat Paraguay by two clear goals in their final Group B match in Kaiserslautern and England must beat Sweden in Cologne to achieve the historic feat. Both matches are on Tuesday at the same time.

TORU KAMIKAWA, the Japanese referee who officiated in the England vs Trinidad and Tobago World Cup Football match on Tuesday is to be assessed by the newly set up technical team, that FIFA has put in place for this year’s World Cup.

Kamikawa has been the subject of vexatious conversation among Soca Warrior local fans here and others around the world after his controversial adjudications on the field against the TT Football team on Thursday, resulting in the Warriors receiving five yellow cards in the match as opposed to just one handed to England. But the worst concern was over the reported foul against TT defender Brent Sancho whose dread locks were tugged at by England’s Peter Crouch to elevate himself to an advantage that resulted in England’s first goal in the 83rd minute of the match.

Can ANY ENGLISH SUPPORTER COMMENT ON THE ABOVE?

well i have to say he wanted to win this one and i play soccer myself he was trying to get a push to get the ball in the goal and win and if you think my opinion is stupid thats ok i’m fine with it.

d.beckham i agree

By any means necessary.
That’s exactly why you all killed Martin Luther King.

TRINIDAD SOCCER WARIORS IS CLEARLY A BETTER TEAM THAN ENGLAND,GO WARIORS GO, BIG SHOUT OUT TO AURTIS,SCOTLAND AND DOGMAN ANDREWS,SAN JUAN BARATARIA HOME BOYS.

I CANNOT UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE BUSY WONDERING IF SANCHOO HAIR IS BRAIDS OR DRED LOCKS ?

OK – as per comments on video thread…

British and Proud, English and supporting fervently. But when will FIFA and the FA show some courage?

Football is going to the dogs as more and more players worldwide cheat, scream, cry and foul their way through match after match.

There are many “professional” footballers who are paid millions of pounds to entertain us playing the beautiful game. For far too long now they’ve cheated their way through match after match. Crouch should be ashamed, he brings shame to our nation and whilst I’m chuffed that we won the match, it disappoints me that the 1st goal had to be like that.

Cheats will always be found out and FIFA should stamp on them. Since they didn’t here then the FA should fine Crouch – “We do not tolerate or condone this kind of behaviour of our players” (or something similar).
If FIFA and the FA stepped on cheating, arguing or whining with immediate Yellow and then Red cards or even post match Yellows for fouls or cheating that was missed by the Ref (with 2 in consecutive games meaning 4 match ban) then perhaps we could all get around to the business of watching talented people palying football and not over paid hooligans whining, cheating and antagonising referees for 90 minutes every weekend.

OK let’s be clear – it took *hours* for *any* TV station to pick up on the fact that Crouch had grabbed the hair, and you have to look closely at the footage to see this was so. So if they’re going to kick out the referee for this alone, that’s unfair on the referee.

And let’s be blunt, this is Jack Warner whinging here – look at the distribution of T&Ts tickets to see what this man thinks of fairness.

So was it a foul? Yes. Did Crouch deliberately pull the dreadlocks? Well, he deliberately pulled something, but as he was looking up in the air at the time and not at Sancho’s hair, he may just as easily have been trying to pull his shirt (which Crouch has a habit of doing anyway). Is it likely the ref saw it and ignored it? No, because the ref wasn’t near, and it wasn’t easy to see.

So fine Crouch (and every other player who dives, pulls shirts, etc), keep the ref, and get rid of Warner.

Well what do you expect of the english? The only title they achieved was because of…you know what I mean. SHAME, SHAME, SHAME.
We are going to kick them out on our way to our 4th title.
Good night everybody

I notice comments stating that TnT did not play well because they only played defense. This is my take on their strategy. Leo(the coach) probably sized up the competition and came to the conclusion that Paraguay was probably the weakest team, for TnT anyway, in the group . with this in mind, we would hold off the “giants” and take our attack to them. This is a very good strategy. What is interesting, is that neither of the “giants” lived up to their grandeur, from the way that they played and I believe that Paraguay may actually be the toughest game for TnT. As for the Crouch incident, I would have thought that he of all the English players wouldn’t need to do anything to get more of a height advantage but apparently he does. as for the goal…Shit happens and though I am saddened, I applaud my Trini kinsmen for the character they showed. As for the English fans, i empathise with your team’s lackluster performance, but hope thay beat Sweden as this is the only chance we will have.

I also read somewhere that FIFA has a fourth official which presides over the game much like the “third Umpire in cricket”. I guess that is why the refs wear that headset(for communication with the 4th official). What bothers me is that that position is either a namesake or filled by incompetent persons. I think their “eagle eye” coverage would do well especially when a goal scores or something happens in the 18 yard box. At least those areas would be better watched as it seems that alot of the troubles occur there(fouls, behind the line nongiven goals).

Before the tnt match i considered the robotic geek boy a class defender, now i know he’s just another cheating geeko.

correction to my post on 20/06/06- should read CLASS FORWARD NOT CASS DEFENDER.

One who likes piggy-backing on defenders.

who pays tnt’s players wages? How many 0f them live in england? most of them i think you’ll find, so stop moaning. Gerrard scored after anyway so shut up, we were pressuring you towards the end and would have scored either way, bye bye tnt go home and stop moaning and making excuses. You lost to paragay anyway so u still would’ve gone home

crouch scored his first…and last world cup goal thanks to Rastafari hairstyles.He is a tall lanky lumpy piece of shit and a terrible striker.He would not have even made Saudi Arabia starting line up.

Oh by the way, all you english fans out theere you kno yall not ogn win the world cup deep down in your hearts.Lucky if yall get pass ecuador with that long pass shit brand of football.

Thats funny, and how good are trinidad and tobago? worse than saudi arabia, u wish u had a team like englands

God who cares, all this internet bitchin, it dont matter how good your team is or how you win,aslong as you win! i would cheat to win the bloody world cup! would’nt you?! man, TnT werent that good, all they had is a team that put everyman back to stop the other team attacking, they through themselves everywhere, but in the end all be it by a dodgy goal and an excellent rocket from stevie gerrard, england won, and now we are through to the next round. where are tnt? on the plane back home…..to ENGLAND!! lmao

I’m going to address only one part of your article. Sancho’s hair is in dreadlocks, part of the rastafarian religion, almost the farthest you can get from girliness. Please be sure you are right when being scathing.