Hand of Geek: The Video Proof

And Gerrard’s goal? Wouldn’t England have won the game anyway?

Posted from  United Kingdom

Why the Union Jack on my post? I am English NOT British, St George Cross please!

Posted from  United Kingdom

English = British.

Remember the Empire, old chap.

Posted from  United Kingdom

[...] The England blog has some conclusive video evidence that Peter Crouch climbed all over his marker to score England’s first. [...]

Posted from  United States

lets be honest even if there was hand action it wasnt used to direct the ball and it was nowhere near as blaitant as maradonna.

Posted from  United Kingdom

It’s past,let it go,nothing will change however much you all talk.

Posted from  United Kingdom

crouch is a bitch

That 2-0 score was no victory. Dignity and fairplay were the real champions of the game.

Posted from  Trinidad And Tobago

Crouch probably isn’t even aware that laying such a hand on a Rasta’s locks is disrespect straight out of Babylon! His goal certainly wasn’t “Irie” and he has definitly earned the ire of most Trinbagonians.

I, for one, don’t ever want to see him in my country.

What do you think? Is FIFA doing enough to discourage this sort of thing and should they penalise players, clubs, nations that are caught in the act? Was Maradonna’s “hand of God” an indication of his eventual fall from grace & could Crouch be destined for the same?

Is Jack Warner & the TTFF wrong not to pursue this? What if Brent’s neck was injured? Should foul makers’ careers be jeapordised as a deterrent, when caught so blatantly?

Let your opinion be heard!! Keep blogging!!

Posted from  Trinidad And Tobago

wonder why this is never shown on british tv??? well,small wonder, british never admits to their fault…never!

Posted from  United Kingdom

riggaz, What are you talking about? What if Lennon’s legs were broken in that two legged foul earlier in the game, what if, what if, get over it, you lost!

Posted from  Australia

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.

Be glad Trinis, the people of the world who wrote Trinidad off even before the first match were shown that the size of a country has nothing to do with the Skill, Courage and Heart of its players. You shocked the world against Sweden, which has an arsenal of attacking players from Arsenal(haha), Barcelona etc. Dont be sour. Keep up the good work and maintain your trini enthusiasm and you might advance. You played better than alot of the higher ranked teams and I’m sure that FIFA is going to reassess your world ranking when this is over. Continue to hope, pray and support your team.

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. Also, I hope that England doesn’t dissappoint the Trinidadians and lose to Sweden. They owe it to them to kick Swedens ass. And you owe it to your former conolizers to support them, just as your team does.

Posted from  Canada

We’ve heard that FIFA placed Kamikawa on a list of referees whose performance will be reviewed and that this is a clear signal that FIFA is unhappy at the way the Japanese official conducted his duties at the Franken Stadion in Nuremberg England vs T&T match. Anyone heard more on this?

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.

Posted from  Canada

Thanks D_Bone.
I hope that this makes referees more conscious in future games that all eyes are on them. Even if according to goal counts, we lose and the way I see it, the Warriors are winners, no debate, I am appreciating in a whole new way that saying: It is better to lose with dignity than to lose your dignity to win.

England sucks

Posted from  Lithuania

To break the deadlock, Crouch grabbed the dreadlocks! It appears that the hooliganism that the organizers were trying to root out from any fan in the stands was actually brought on to the pitch by a player….. Peter Crouch! Not blaming the whole team, but although England won the game, it will be a kind of win that was marred and that will haunt them for the rest of the World Cup games and as they return home…without winning the World Cup(as I predict). Yes, Crouch should go down in the “Hall of Shame” along with Maradona. But the shame will rest with the public and other stakeholders if we quickly forget and allow again. To Peter Crouch: What a cheap shot! Was the goal worth the loss of respect and good sportmanship? I know that fouls are committed in every game and the intention and intensity of the foul is always an issue for a fair and just referee and linemen to call. But no matter how heated a match gets or how much adrenaline is pumped, the pulling of hair is definitely a deliberate act since you have to reach and know what you are reaching for before you pull, and you definitely did pull and kept that hold to bring Sancho almost down to his knees! Aren’t you tall enough without having to use another man as your stepladder to gain the extra height for the advantage you obviously wanted? Although it was not caught in the instant that it happened, you forgot about replays…and the videos and still pictures are showing around the world the “big man” you really are. In any case, although the game is over and the goal is recorded, we await the outcomes/decisions stemming from the various official reviews and investigations. I, too, find it strange that there has not been much coverage on this incident. I suppose it is just the win that matters, not how you got it. It appears, though, from reading the outpour of comments from around the world, that public opinion has made their decision and it is not on the side of Crouch….and that can matter most to many. Meanwhile, may I say to the Trinidad & Tobago team that we know who really are the “big men”. To Brent Sancho: May I suggest for the next time you have to face Crouch in any soccer match, you and the rest of the Soca Warriors should sport an additional piece of gear…. an “English Bobby hat” to tuck your hair under for protection and which may better render the obviously-needed message of “Hands Off Hair”! Crouch may respect the hat symbol rather than the hair symbol. Continue to wear your hair with the pride and dignity you and the Trinidad & Tobago Soca Warriors have already displayed as good sportsmen and true warriors on the soccer field.

Posted from  Trinidad And Tobago

Just a clarification…I meant to say that I find it strange that there has not been much coverage on the incident in the ENGLISH press.

Posted from  Trinidad And Tobago

go on den crouch atleast you never gt caught and it waz still a goal and we won and they wouldnt of gt no were if they had free kick

Posted from  United Kingdom

SURAJ-I BET U THINK CHEATING IS RIGHT….

Posted from  Canada

alecks, did it take you all day to think up your quote? By the way are Lithuania in the cup? Mmmm Lithuawhoooo?

Posted from  Australia

OK.

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.

Posted from  United Kingdom

Who the hell reads these long ass replys?

Posted from  United States

To Tommy:

What makes you think England would have one ‘anyway’? After Crouchs dirty goal, Trinidad had to give up their defensive position and go all out offense. If Crouchs goal had never happened or righfully disallowed by the ref then I’d bet TnT would have kept up their defence and last the rest of the game. Also, If you have ever played in football game, a goal like that really brings down the moral of the team especially so late in the game. Crouchs goal opened up cracks in TNT’s defence which ultimately lead to England second goal. Its a shame a player of England had to resort to this a really give the team a bad reputation for years to come.

Posted from  Canada

This is pathetic

Posted from  United Kingdom