Is This Soccer? Massachusetts High Rules

 Just as it has touched everything else in our lives, the coronavirus has altered high school soccer, at least in Massachusetts.  Andrew Keh in today's New York Times describes the rule changes there that have affected the way the game is played. No headers, no throw-ins (replaced by free kicks), no defensive walls.  Games are no quarters rather than halves.  Goalies cannot punt past midfield.  Physical contact with an opponent is permitted.

A violation of one of these rules is a "covid foul" and give the other team an indirect free kick.  

Phil  Silva, coach of Bishop Sheehan, says the rules have slowed down the game because of the number of stoppages for the covid fouls.

It's sad to see the game so drastically altered and especially slowed down, but as Keh reports, most believe playing by these rules is better than not playing at all.

Jackie Charlton dies. Played In '66 World Cup Final

Jack Charlton, who played 21 years for Leeds United, earned 35 caps for England and later managed several clubs and the Irish National Team, died last week at age 85. The New York Times ran a lengthy obit.  Charlton and his younger brother, Bob, a Manchester United star, were both on the field when England defeated Germany, 4-2, in overtime to win the 1966 World Cup.  

The match was controversial because Geoff Hurst's go-ahead goal 11 minutes into the first overtime, struck the underside of the crossbar and bounced out, but the Swiss referee ruled it a goal after consulting with the Russian assistant referee.  The controversy raged for years in Germany.  

Years later my brother, Gary, took soccer players from the school where he taught to a camp in England and met Bob Charlton.  So naturally he asked Charlton if it was really goal.  "Of course it was, mate," said Charlton who had been in the midfield, who knows how far from the goal at the time. 

Jack Charlton was the 12th member of the 1966 World Cup champions to die.

Grössenwahn: The New European Order

Rory Smith writes in today's New York Times about European clubs living in the past with delusions of grandeur about the future. Although the column focuses on F.C. Kaiserslautern, Hamburger S.V. and VfB Stuttgart, it looks at the trend throughout Europe.  "Over the last two decades, a current has swept through European soccer, drastically shifting the game’s landscape," Smith writes.

Soccer Returns in Germany - Sort Of

Rory Smith in yesterday's New York Times wrote about the return of the Bundesliga to empty stadiums.  He focused on Dortmund where Borussia shut out FC Schalke, 4-0.  The story mentions the feeling of many fans that this isn't really soccer, but rather business.  But as Smith notes, when the first goal was scored, "In that moment, you could see beyond the silence and the grayness and the sorrow, beneath the business and the sport, that soccer is just a game. But it is a good game."

U.S. Women Suffer "Crushing Blow" in Court

A federal judge in  California dismissed the U.S. Women's National Team's claims against U.S. Soccer of being paid less than the men's team.  It was described by Andrew Das in the New York Times as a crushing blow.  The court left standing claims of unequal treatment in areas such as travel, hotel accommodations and team staffing.  Trial is scheduled for June 16.

The judge granted U.S. Soccer's motion for summary judgment, meaning that based on undisputed facts of record the women could not win and defendant U.S. Soccer was entitled to a dismissal as a matter of law.

As Kelsey Trainor (who like Coach P is a lawyer) states in her article on The Equalizer, Judge Gary Klausner wrote in a 32-page opinion "that the U.S. women rejected an offer to operate under a CBA with a pay structure similar to the men’s national team and therefore, they cannot now claim unequal pay. The judge also found that, based on evidence and expert testimony submitted by the parties, the U.S. women actually earned more than the men over the same time span. He noted that while the U.S. women earned on average $221,000 per game during the class period (2015 – 2019) the U.S. men earned $213,000 per game. This, of course, does not take into account the fact that had the men’s team been successful like the women (who won two World Cups during that time), the men would have earned a far higher rate of pay. "

The women have said they would appeal, but as Trainor points out, because the appeal would be interlocutory, that is a appeal of less than a final judgment on all issues, and those are very difficult to file.  Unless the appellate court grants permission, the women would have to go through a trial on the remaining issue and then appeal the dismissal of the equal pay claim.

It is still possible the sides will reach a settlement before the trial date.

Quarter century MLS broadcasters

Thanks to Inquirer soccer writer Jonathan Tannenwald for tweeting out the MLS article about the league's longtime broadcasters, including the Union's J.P. Dellacamera.  May they be back on the air very soon.

FIFA To The Rescue

The soccer world is not immune to the devastating economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.  One doesn't need an MBA to figure that when your source of revenue goes - in the case of soccer the games, televising of them and incidental income such as parking and concessions - your profits go as well.  

It turns out that FIFA has cash reserves of $2.74 billion and is considering using some of that money to  aid ailing clubs around the world.  As reported in the New York Times, there is talk of using some of the reserves and borrowing against future television revenue to create a "football relief fund."