h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Okay, so I was slighlty annoyed at Urs Meier's decision to rule out Campbell's 'goal' last week... but after the event, I think he probably made the right call.

However, today I read this:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3853533.stm

Now, I can accept that the Sun newspaper can do stupid things at such a time as this, but what caught my attention in this report was:

"British MPs have also tabled a motion in the House of Commons criticising the quality of refereeing in the tournament, the Press Association news agency reported."

What?? Why can't politicians keep out of sport, and what on earth has this got to do with British politics anyway? Politicians aren't doing themselves any favours in the eyes of the general public by tabling ridiculous motions such as this, are they?

I had a reasonably okay feeling towards politicians before I read this - now I can understand why the feelings of others are so apathetic towards them.

I've also read, in the Guardian email "the fiver" that apparently a group of Englishmen attacked a swiss girl in greece, because she was wearing a swtizerland t-shirt, and left her with a broken arm.

When England played Turkey iN Sunderland, a agame I went to, a friend of mine, a petite 19-year-old Turkish girl, was beaten in the city centre by four men in England shirts claiming it was revenge for the deaths of the leeds fans murdered in istanbul.

Some people are scum, and they choose to use football as an excuse. And the newspapers which have launched vitriolic assaults on Mr. Meier are culpable, as are Fantasy football's Baddiel and Skinner, who gaver out Mr. Meier's website, email address, and showed his car the other day. Although, unlike the newspapers, Frank Skinner was showing remorse last night, criticising the abuse Meier has received.

I don't think that all politicians are the same, but whoever has tabled that Commons motion is indulging in some very cheap populism.

The persecution of Urs Meier by some British tabloids has been absolutely disgusting, in particular their delving into his private life - as if that had anything to do with his refereeing ability. As a result of the whole sorry business, I'm convinced of two things:

1) Referees at the biggest tournaments should have access to video replays to help them be certain about difficult decisions. It seems to work very well in Rugby League, and it'd do a lot to defuse the controversies over contested decisions.

2) The British tabloid press needs much more regulation. But that won't happen because the politicians are afraid to offend the papers' odious owners.

Also, supermarket chain Asda Wal-Mart is joining in with the xenophobic idiocy, offering free eye-tests to anyone who presents a swiss passport, with their chief executive saying "lets face it, we were robbed"

A Guardian article about Meier, the Sun and Mail, and Manu Peyer, the swiss woman attacked in Greece- http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,1563,1250773,00.html

Is it just me or does Rupert Murdoch run this country? I mean, the Sun pick the football team, and the rags seem to have control of the government.

It's a disgrace.

It wasn't just the tabloids that gave our Urs Meier's website address, Trevor McDonald on the ITV News did exactly the same.

However on the other hand, having visited Herr Meier's site, I have to say that he deserves a bit of abuse for putting together such a naff and self-congratulatory website. The pages positively ooze smugness.

Do you think he deserves death threats for it?

No, I only said that he had put together a really naff website.

As for death threats: come off it, none of them are serious. No one who sends someone an e-mail is going to go round there and bump them off. It's the silent ones who the first you hear of them is the sound of the gun going off that you need to watch out for

You mean the people who've emailed him in graphic dettail after the Sun told everyone where he lived? The people the Swiss police have put him in hiding and under protection from? Those ones?

As I said, I've seen the depths to which some of the scum who claim to support the English football team have done. They've beaten up a teenage girl I knew because of her nationality. Could have been worse if it weren't for her friends drragging the mindless numbskulls off her.

When it comes to those who make death threats after England football games, seems to me they should be taken seriously. They attacked my friend because she was Turkish, they attacked Ms. Peyer in Greece as she is Swiss. What do you think they might do if they get their hands on Mr. Meier?

I'm sorry for your friend who got attacked, as I am sorry for the Swiss lass as well. They are not responsible in any way and it is a crying shame that they have come to harm.

As for Meier himself: well he was in a position of responsibility, and if one is in such a position then one must be prepared to face the consequences of that decision - it's called management. Now, if one of the consequences is a threat of violence, then we have laws and the like to protect the individual under attack and to prosecute the potential attackers. So I don't see an issue here.

IMHO, I think that it was a wrong call to dis-allow the goal and I think that Meier had a howler but that does not justify any of this.

I think people should actually watch the game, we were not robbed we deserved to loose that match, had we won it really would have been a robbery.

My ...

So, GD, someone who referees a football match and then ends up suffering from a week-long campaign of tabloid vilification, including an investigation into his sex life, deserves no sympathy because it all goes with the job? And while there may be laws against making death threats, and most of them may be empty, do you really think you'd sleep easily if you were getting thousands of them?

I can't believe you seriously think there's no 'issue' about the way Meier has been treated. Are you Murdoch in disguise?

I see FIFA have made him one of the 4 retained referees, in effect saying 'he dun good' I doubt very much he would have made that list on the quality of his refereeing, so those who attacked him have achieved the opposite of what they desired.

I think the Sun should be culpable for giving out personal details, but I think a referee who has a website is not really projecting the image the game would desire.

As for the bleached beard......

Ormy, I half wish I hadn't started all this as I don't really care one way or the other about our Swiss friend - he had a shocker of a game; and he was in good company with 11 others that night!

Now in answer to your first question, umm... yes! I blame Neil Warnock for that

the quality of meier's officiating, and the quality of referees in general, is neither here nor there. what is shocking is that an english newspaper incites violence against a person and prints details to facilitate carrying it out, that that most august of human assemblies, parliament, would spread oil on the fire, and that british subjects would carry out the acts they did, over a game of football.

i love football. i love england and the english. but there's no denying you're a queer lot.

'That most august of human assemblies'? Have you ever seen the House of Commons in action?

oh, come on, since they took their swords away nobody's been killed there!

Isn't it just a load of half cut toffs sat around going "Wheyyy!" or "Boooo" depending on how drunk they actually are and whether or not the speaker has suggested getting Chinese or Indian?

as the shadow cabinet minister for funny walks i just drone on and on and on and on without letting anyone else get a word in edgeways, until i start to froth at the mouth and fall over backwards...