Officiating mars quarterfinals

Korea earns place in history, as Turkey confirms its progress

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CNNSI.com's World Cup analyst Gabriele Marcotti is covering every kick of the tournament, with a "91st Minute" column filed each matchday. Click here to submit a comment or question to Marcotti's mailbag.

History was made on Saturday, as South Korea defeated Spain on penalties after a scoreless 120 minutes, becoming the first ever Asian team to reach the semifinals of the World Cup, as well as the first team from outside Europe and South America to do so in the past 72 years.

In the other quarterfinal, Senegal and Turkey, two of the tournament's surprise packages, served up perhaps the finest match of the four, a 1-0 win for the Turks.

It was, alas, also a case of history repeating itself. Just as the officiating when South Korea played Italy caused a storm of controversy, so too will some of the decisions in the Spain match lead to recriminations and accusations.

The questionable calls should not detract from South Korea's outstanding performances throughout this tournament, but, in some people's eyes, they probably will. And that's not fair to Guus Hiddink's troops who, to a man, showed the same gutsy spirit and tactical nous against Spain which they displayed throughout the competition and which helped them achieve a previously unthinkable feat.

It is not the players' fault; it is the officials' (who made some shocking basic mistakes) and it is the fault of those who picked them (a mistake, which FIFA itself has recognized and that it has pledged to correct in 2006).

Spain went into the game without the striking duo that started the World Cup: Raul and Diego Tristan. Jose Antonio Camacho was left with just two strikers available, Fernando Morientes and the inexperienced Alberto Luque, so he opted to play with just one forward (Morientes), with Juan Carlos Valeron, a midfielder by trade, tucked just behind. South Korea had everybody available, though Kim Nam-il, not yet fully fit, gritted his teeth and played hurt with a twisted ankle.

The first half saw both teams evenly matched, without major incidents, but with Spain looking dangerous down the right with Joaquim, a surprise starter ahead of Luis Enrique. The 20-year-old was a constant threat, prompting Guus Hiddink to switch to a more orthdox 4-4-2 formation by inserting Lee Eul-yong.

Spain thought it had scored in the 49th minute, when, off a free kick, the ball deflected off the back of Kim Tae-young and past goalkeeper Lee Woon-jae. Egyptian referee Gamal Ghandour disallowed it, presumably for shirt-pulling or pushing (some commentators said it was for Fernando Morientes being offside, but, as the ball came off a Korean defender, he could not have been offside).

It looked dubious, but not as dubious as what was to come. Korea battled on and looked to have the momentum towards the end of the 90 minutes, coming close to a goal with Park Ji-sung and Lee Eul-yong. Early in extra time, another Spanish goal was disallowed and this time it's sure to generate controversy. Joaquim's umpteenth run down the right flank resulted in a far-post cross that Morientes nudged into the back of the net, but the linesman, Michael Ragoonath from Trinidad, ruled that the ball had crossed the byline before Joaquim's center.

Television replays clearly showed that this was not the case, and by a considerable margin (reminder: the entire ball must cross the line for it to be considered out of play). What further incensed the Spaniards was the fact that Ragoonath was no more than 10 yards away and he did not raise his flag immediately, but rather just before Morientes met the cross.

Spain then hit the post with Morientes before another controversial offside decision robbed Morientes of a chance on goal. And so the match went to penalties. Here, South Korea showed all its nerve and calm under pressure, converting all five spotkicks. And that made all the difference, as Spain's Joaquim, so brilliant in the 120 minutes despite picking up a late groin injury, fired into the body of Lee Woon-jae. Again this was not without controversy, as it appeared that the Korean goalkeeper moved several steps off his line before Joaquim's strike.

Spain goes home with the knowledge that this was perhaps its best chance in decades of winning the World Cup, a competition in which they've regularly underachieved. It's ironic too that it was against Korea that Camacho's men played their best soccer and that they did so without Raul.

As for South Korea, it would be unfortunate if the refereeing mistakes in their matches against Italy and Spain detract in any way from what these young men have achieved. Led by the magnificent captain, Hong Myung-bo, Hiddink's men showed the usual fitness, drive and passion, but also a tactical awareness and organization that matched Spain for much of the game.

Now, Germany awaits and the question on everybody's minds is whether they can knock out a European giant for the fourth straight match, after Spain, Italy and Portugal.

In the later match, Turkey confirmed the progress it has made in recent years with a mature attacking performance, punctuated by some brilliant play from Yildiray Basturk and Ergun Penbe. Meanwhile, El Hadji Diouf relied on service from Khalilou Fadiga on the left and Henri Camara. It was Camara who had the misfortune of inadvertently blocking Diouf's goalbound shot in the first half. At the other end, Hakan Sukur missed two open chances, nullifying all his hard work.

In the second half, the pace dropped somewhat and both sides traded chances, though as time wore on towards extra time, Senegal looked more and more fatigued.

The golden goal came after just two minutes of extra time. It was as sudden as it was deserved. Umit Davala whipped a brilliant cross into the box which Ilhan Mansiz (who had replaced Hakan Sukur earlier) turned into the back of the net, leaving Mohamed Sylva with no chance. The Turkish fans celebrated wildly. A semifinal rematch with Brazil awaits them, and given the suspension of Ronaldinho and the precarious condition of Ronaldo, coupled with what happened in the earlier game, an upset is not out of the question -- far from it.

As for Senegal, Bruno Metsu's men were a delight to watch, combining both creativity and tactical awareness and showing a sophistication and drive that some had not given them credit for. They'll be back; players like Ferdinand Coly, Fadiga, Diouf and Pape Bouba Diop are too good to be held down.

Hong Myung Bo (South Korea). The oldest Korean player and a constant inspiration. At times, it looked like he was holding everything together at the back on his own. A great leader and the embodiment of the "Korea Fighting" spirit. To cap it all off, it was he who converted the decisive penalty.

Hakan Sukur (Turkey). To be fair, he created lots of space with his movement and battled hard up front. But he was guilty of two terrible misses that a guy of his experience should have put away. Still, don't be too harsh on him: Without him and his leadership, Turkey would never have gotten to the semifinals.

Ilhan Mansiz (Turkey). The stuff of boyhood dreams. He comes on as a substitute and scores the most important (for now, at least) goal in the history of Turkish soccer. Lightning quick, intelligent movement tracking Umit Davala's run and then a cool, quality finish.

Few had high expectations from Germany coming into this tournament. Even boss Rudi Voeller admitted that his objective was making it as far as the second round. It was understandable, given the country's disappointing performances in recent years and the absence through injury of its best defender (Jens Nowotny) and most creative midfielder (Sebastian Deisler) as well as a wily offensive midfielder such as Mehmet Scholl. What's more, this is a team that has been decimated by injuries and suspensions and whose star player, Michael Ballack, has not fired on all cylinders, following a grueling season that saw him make 70 odd appearances. Instead, Germany finds itself 90 minutes from its sixth World Cup final. It's a credit to the players who have achieved the maximum result with the minimum effort and executed Voeller's game plans to perfection. Along the way, it got a bit of luck as well (don't take my word for it; ask Franz Beckenbauer, who said the United States should have been awarded a penalty for Torsten Frings' handball). Germany's progress is a tribute to its mental strength, experience and goalkeeper Oliver Kahn, who has been nothing short of spectacular. Sure, we've seen many more impressive German sides in the past. But it's also a question of whether you see the glass as half-empty or half-full. Germany has not played particularly well. Is it a sign that it is not a very good team? Or does it mean that it has yet to peak in this competition? We'll find out soon enough.

The World Cup takes another two-day break in advance of the semifinals, with South Korea preparing to face Germany on Tuesday on one side of the draw and Turkey set for a rematch against Brazil on the other.

After the Portuguese complained about officiating in their loss to South Korea, I thought it was sour grapes (and I still do). When the Italians were furious about the referee after losing to the Koreans, I thought, well, if only they had attacked more (and also sour grapes). Now that Spain has experienced yet another example of somewhat dubious officiating while playing the Koreans, I have to admit that, at least on the surface, this doesn't look good. I'm not a conspiracy theorist by any means, but this is, at the very least, a bad trend. What is your opinion on the referees? And what do you think of FIFA's view that "they're only human" as an excuse? --Ken, Pittsburgh Answer: This World Cup has seen some terrible officiating in a number of matches. In games that are decided by individual episodes, there is a very fine line between victory and defeat. Which, incidentally, is why it's a good idea to temper both our praise for the victors and our criticism of the defeated. FIFA boss Sepp Blatter himself has acknowledged that this competition has witnessed substandard officiating particularly from referees' assistants and has pledged that things will change in the future. He admitted that some teams were the victims of a series of "unfortunate coincidences." Those "unfortunate coincidences" are doubly bad, because not only do they generate acrimony and suspicion among the aggrieved, they also cast doubt on the achievement of those who won. And that's simply not fair. South Korea may have involuntarily and indirectly benefited from officiating errors, but that doesn't change the fact that Guus Hiddink's men have played exceptionally well, matching sides with bigger reputation blow-for-blow. The "they're only human" excuse is a cop out, plain and simple. What is disturbing isn't the errors which were made, it's the number of errors and the kind of errors. It's unreasonable to expect that referees and assistants be perfect. It is reasonable to demand that the very best referees and assistants be called to the World Cup. And, clearly, that has not happened. Click here to read Marcotti's most recent mailbag, and here to submit a comment or question.

 

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