FIFA president criticizes play in final
When Sepp Blatter says you’ve stepped out of line, you know you’ve really made a big mistake.
And the FIFA president was full of contempt for the two World Cup finalists Monday, the day after Spain won its first title with an ugly, foul-filled 1-0 win over the Netherlands in extra time.
“It was not exactly what we have, or what I have, expected for fair play on the field of play in the final,” Blatter said at a news briefing to mark the end of the tournament.
English referee Howard Webb showed 14 yellow cards — more than twice the previous record for a World Cup final — and one red card for Dutch defender John Heitinga. But Blatter made clear he wasn’t blaming the officials for their handling of an often bad-tempered match, which was watched by an estimated global television audience of 700 million people.
“It is not up to me to judge the performance of the officials in match control,” Blatter said. “I can only say it was a very hard task that the refereeing trio had on the field of play.”
The Netherlands players, many of whom charged Webb after the match, were widely criticized for using physical tactics to stop Spain’s rhythmic passing style.
“You have to learn to win and you have to learn to lose, and should not forget the basis, which is discipline and respect,” Blatter said.
Eight different Dutch players were given yellow cards, with Heitinga sent off after Webb showed him a second yellow in extra time.
Five Spanish players were also booked, and influential defender Carles Puyol came close to a red when he appeared to impede forward Arjen Robben’s run on goal late in regulation time. Webb allowed Robben to continue and attempt a shot.
FIFA is likely to open a disciplinary case against the Dutch team, and can also investigate Spain. FIFA’s disciplinary code allows for national teams to be fined if at least five players receive yellow cards in a match.
Dutch treat
Despite the controversy over his team’s play in Sunday’s final, Dutch Coach Bert van Marwijk said his players gave a good accounting of themselves in the tournament, winning six consecutive games to reach the final for the third time.
“I don’t think anybody would have expected that we would be here now. That we would be in the final,” he said after the loss. “And we almost went to penalty shots. It’s so disappointing. We came so close.”
Ratings winner
World Cup television viewership rose 41% over four years ago for English-language telecasts in the United States, with the final setting a record.
Sunday’s game in Johannesburg was seen by 15,545,000 viewers on ABC, according to fast national ratings. The previous high was 14,863,000 viewers for the United States’ 2-1 overtime loss to Ghana in the second round on June 26.
An additional 8.8 million viewers watched Spanish-language coverage Sunday on Univision, according to Nielsen Media Research, bringing the total to 24.3 million.
Putting the lid on the squid
Paul the octopus, who became a pop culture sensation by correctly predicting the outcome of eight World Cup matches, including his pick of Spain to win the final, is hanging up his touting tentacles.
The intuitive invertebrate will “step back from the official oracle business,” Tanja Munzig, a spokeswoman for the Sea Life aquarium in Oberhausen, Germany, told Associated Press Television News.
“He won’t give any more oracle predictions — either in football, nor in politics, lifestyle or economy,” she said. “Paul will get back to his former job, namely making children laugh.”
However, Paul took one last curtain call Monday. Aquarium employees presented the octopus with a golden cup — similar to the official World Cup trophy.
Times wire services contributed to this report.
