WHEN SPAIN captain Iker Casillas lifted the World Cup on Sunday night in Johannesburg he brought to an end a sporting extravaganza that will be remembered for much more than the 31 days of football. The first staging of the World Cup in Africa, an organisational triumph for the hosts, and the first victory by Spain will be the opening chapters in the history books but the tournament’s real legacy may well lie elsewhere.
The governing body for football, Fifa, which is never shy of blowing its own vuvuzela in recognition of its achievements, will finally have to address the rules of the game it controls with an iron fist. The concession by Fifa president Sepp Blatter that goal-line technology will have to be looked at in future tournaments following an incident in the Germany-England game will have an ironic resonance for Irish supporters.
Calls for the introduction of similar technology following the controversial Thierry Henry goal for France against the Republic of Ireland in their World Cup play-off game last November were contemptuously dismissed by Mr Blatter in the immediate aftermath of the incident. That he should now bow to pressure on the same issue speaks volumes about how Fifa reacts when confronted by some of the heavy hitters in world football.
The issue of technology is not confined to soccer as the controversy in Croke Park on Sunday illustrated. With so much at stake in games, there is an onus on the governing bodies to use every available tool to make sure that controversial decisions do not lead to an inflamed crowd and the disgraceful scenes that marred the end of the Leinster football final. Technology, however, will be of little value when it comes to the other major issue facing Fifa in the wake of a poor World Cup final – the standard of the worldwide game and how football’s best players can be protected.
Sunday’s showpiece gave little comfort in that regard with a cynical Dutch approach dragging the game down to public park level. Fourteen yellow cards and one red in a game of such magnitude is a terrible indictment of how a win-at-all-costs mentality pervades all aspects of football. A tournament that was marked by the wonderful enthusiasm and dignity of its South African hosts was almost overshadowed in the end by stifling tactics and an approach that bordered on the ugly and thuggish. Such an eventuality would have been a travesty and a poor reflection on the tournament overall which captured the imagination and the audience.
The mass appeal of soccer is built on great individual players and teams who deliver the sublime moments that are celebrated across the world and treasured for generations to come. The new world champions Spain fit that description in every sense. They exhibit outstanding skill and an attacking flair that will be a positive influence to coaches and young players alike. South Africa and Spain deserve the accolades but Fifa has much to ponder on as it takes its leave of the 19th World Cup and starts the planning for Brazil in 2014.