Hand of Henry

Okay so as usual I am a little late to the comment party.

Item 1. Hand of Henry. Yes, Thierry Henry intentionally handled the ball. Yes, it was a monumental piece of cheating not just bad officiating. I think everyone (even Raymond Domenech) agrees with those points. But what should be done about it? Defintely there should be a replay. The fact that FIFA is refusing a replay proves they are an arrogant and out-of-touch organization. Discussion about the other form of replay, namely video replay, is unecessary. What is needed instead is more officials. The fact that one referee and two linesman are required to officiate a 90 minute game played on a soccer pitch is ridiculous. Michel Platini is right. There should be officials at either goal line. I would also add two more linesman.

Four more officials are the minimum number to adequately monitor a soccer game. The call that is consistently wrong in soccer is the offside call. This is not the linesman's fault. It is nearly impossible to get close offsides right more than half the time. One linesman, who is usually behind the play (how are they supposed to keep up with world class athletes) cannot simultaneously view both the moment a pass is struck and the position of one or more forward players. The calls that are most consistently controversial are those resulting in penalty kicks. An official on the goal line would lend huge amounts of assistance to the referees who are often hopeless wrong about decisions in the 18 yard box.

One of the great advantages of soccer is the clock is always running. Other than half-time, soccer is like life, it never stops. The constant flow of the ball and of time is one reason soccer is considered the beautiful game. Instituting video replay would kill this aspect.

Item 2. Richard Colvin's testimony. I haven't got a lot to say about Colvin's testimony other than the Tories ended up looking very guilty by launching personal attacks on Colvin and then coming up with ludicrous questions for him like "So you saw bruises and evidence of torture but you did actually see the torture occuring?" If the Government was so innocent they would have released the documents in question long ago.

More importantly, this may finally be an issue on which the Liberals can gain some traction. The other gold ticket issue for the Liberals was the whole Tory cheque scandal. The Liberals should have turned that into a huge deal especially in a country that prides itself on modesty.

The problem with the Liberals is one of leadership. Michael Ignatieff is not accessible. The liberals need to win votes in Hamilton and Orrilia, and London, and Huntsville, and Sault Ste. Marie. Nobody is reading the Rights of the Stranger there. Justin Trudeau has tried and failed to replicate Obama. He is Hope and Change on overdrive. He never comes across as an everyman. If only Ralph Goodale was better looking and from Ontario.

Item 3. El Clasico. Well I'm excited. I think Barca's going to win big but it should be a great game and a great atmosphere. I hope Arsenal sticks it to Chelsea.