ALL WHITES RED CARD TIGHTROPE: NINE ON YELLOW CARDS RISKING SUSPENSION !!!!!
What a silly rule it is, that by simply picking up two yellows over all the qualifiers in this stage, players get suspended. (It's even more ridiculous applying in tournaments such as the recent Olympics, Euro Champs or OFC Nations Cup where teams mostly play fewer games.)
Issue of whether players should deliberately seek a card in the next match, serve their suspension and be available for the November inter-continental play-off.
Also OFC admit referee for the Tahiti game wasn't up to it and are seeking Asian officials for the next match v New Caledonia:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/soccer-football/news/article.cfm?c_id=86&objectid=10841137
ALL WHITES MUST ACT WITH CAUTION
By Steven Holloway
1:50 PM Wednesday Oct 17, 2012
Following last night's scrappy but ultimately comfortable 3-0 win over Tahiti, nine of Ricki Herbert's squad now sit on yellow cards, and are each one mistimed challenge away from missing a potential World Cup playoff game next November.
The All Whites have two matches before then, and a win against New Caledonia on New Zealand soil on March 22 in Wellington would confirm their passage.
But what will trouble Herbert is the yellow card dilemma. With so much talent balanced on a knife-edge of suspension, is it ever right to actively seek a booking?
Herbert's first concern will be winning the match and securing the group, but should the All Whites be cruising to a win over New Caledonia, it would be sensible to think of the bigger picture.
Winston Reid, Tony Lochead, Tommy Smith, Michael McGlinchey, Shane Smeltz, Chris Killen, Ivan Vicelich, Jeremy Brockie and Chris Wood are arguably (with the inclusion of Nelsen) our best players, but they have also all been booked.
If any of the above picked up a second yellow in the first leg of the World Cup playoff match against the fourth placed qualifier of CONCACAF, it could be catastrophic, they would be suspended for the return leg - but a booking against New Caledonia could be a blessing.
In the latter scenario the players would miss the final group match against the Solomon Islands, but then have the slate wiped clean for 'the big one'.
However the act of seeking a caution is fraught with danger, especially with the unpredictable standard of refereeing displayed so far in qualifying matches.
Uefa's chief refereeing officer Pierluigi Collina has made it clear that players caught deliberately picking up a booking in order to receive a suspension will receive a two-match ban. Whether the officials will be able to decipher a 'legitimate yellow' from a 'fake yellow' is another matter.
The Solomon Island official Gerald Oiaka was so far out of his depth last night, the match became dangerous, with wild challenges and poor sportsmanship tarnishing the final few minutes.
OFC General Secretary Tai Nicholas today told Radio Sport that he planned on getting referees from the Asian Football Confederation to oversee the match between New Zealand and New Caledonia.
"The referee was perhaps out of his depth and lacked a bit of experience, and we will review that and perhaps he needs to gain some more experience before we allow him to referee again," said Nicholas.