Italy in the World Cup

I know I'm not the only person who is upset about Italy being in the World Cup. I know it. Anyone who is not Italian knows it. Some people who ARE Italian know it. It sucks, it sucks, it sucks.... Why? Because you shouldn't be able to cheat and get away with it like that! You shouldn't be rewarded for taking a dive and the ref should be ashamed he fell for it in the first place.

I know they won the Germany game fair and square, but they wouldn't have gotten to be in the game if they hadn't cheated before.

The World Cup has been suffering from this for years, and not just at the hands of the Italians. The famous "Hand of God Goal" by Diego Maradona of Argentina (WC 1986) is another perfect example. Right away he knew what he'd done, but once the ref makes that call, there's no going back, even if a player quite blatantly punches the ball while making a heading motion, making it look like he headed the ball into the goal. He admitted later that he knew right away it wasn't a valid goal and encouraged his teammates to hug him to make it look real!

So, the Italy team may win the World Cup this year, but if they do, believe me, only the Italians will be smiling.

I say we bring instant replay into the World Cup and allow each team one disputed call per game, add the time it takes into injury time, and make it possible for unfair calls to be recalled. OR have multiple Refs make the call (much like in baseball, where one ump can confer with the others when he's not sure). Either way, something's got to change to make the world's most popular game more fair!