|
In American football, you watch all 22 players because all 22 can hit or be hit every play. In soccer, you only have to watch 5-7 players at a time.
And the days of one, omnipotent referee in the center of the field are long since gone. In the last decade AR's have become more and more active in calling fouls, awarding penalties, and even giving cards. There's a reason they aren't called "linesmen" anymore. Now there's even a fourth official who can tell the center referee anything he sees.
The big issue seems to be in the nature of this particular tournament. Since goals are so rare, and since World Cup Finals games are "do or die" (less so in group play, but still) the consequences of every mistake are that much higher. (Remember, the 16-team knock-out format didn't come about until 1986, with the advent of the first American network TV deal.) The lower the margin for error for the players, the lower the error margin is for the officials.
"One and done" might make for exciting basketball, but it's lousy for soccer.
|